


Voltron: The Next Generation

by 88Madison88, CloudyWingless



Series: Voltron: Legendary Defender Next Gen [2]
Category: Voltron Legendary Defender, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Children, Depression, Eventual Smut, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Future Fic, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Miscommunication, Next Generation, Past Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Self-Harm, Sequel, Teen Angst, add more tags later, genderfluid!Pidge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-08-10 17:30:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7854451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/88Madison88/pseuds/88Madison88, https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloudyWingless/pseuds/CloudyWingless
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There comes a time in our lives where we experience something so unexpected, you can't even fathom it until you realize it's become a part of you and who you are. That doesn't mean it defines you as a certain type of person. Hell, I'm a small and sarcastic teenager. No one would ever expect someone like that to be a paladin, but it happened. I'm following in my parents footsteps. </p><p>My name is Nate Garrett Holt. I'm 16 years old, and I am the paladin of the Green Lion. Together, my team and I are the next generation of the Legendary Defenders.</p><p>(sequel to Treasured Memories)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ryker: hELLO! THIS IS A SEQUEL TO THE FIC TREASURED MEMORIES! I SERIOUSLY SUGGEST Y'ALL READ IT BEFORE READING THIS ONE
> 
> My dear Pidge, Maddie, and I decided to write this fic together! It's about our OCs as Paladins and such... ya know what, I'll let y'all read it!
> 
> Tell us what you think!!

**NATE:**

The last few things I remembered before we took off were the last words from Mom's letter, the proud, teary looks in her and Dad's eyes and lastly, Leo waving at me with glowing eyes filled with awe. 

"We love you!" They shouted from outside the ship. 

I sat on my bed, and unconsciously place my hand on the window, and whispered. "I love you more." 

I looked at the couple and tried to remember all of the good times we’ve had together. Mom and me spending hours together, stargazing, cuddling in front of the television as we watched things like MythBusters late at night, listening to my mom tell me stories about her life as a paladin, and of course, about Dad. 

You see, my mom and dad had me at a very young age. The problem was, Mom didn't tell him about me until we reunited at Uncle Shiro's and Uncle Matt's wedding. Dad was devastated that his own child was kept away from him. He had missed all of the milestones in my life, like my first steps, my first words, etc. He was furious with mom, and who could blame him? I would be mad too. It wasn't until dad started coming over to visit that they repaired their relationship. 

What truly secured their relationship was when I started to call Dad... well.. Dad! 

I originally called him by his first name, Hunk, but that was until my eighth birthday. Dad surprised me by baking a special cake at Nonna's and Nonno's bakery. It was decorated with stars and everything. I remember I was so excited that I jumped into Dad's arms and thanked him before the word slipped out. He stiffened and I started to apologize before he squeezed me tighter. 

"You can call me Dad. Please. Call me Dad," he said tearfully. Our bond was strong than before, but after that day, it grew even stronger. 

When I was younger, I didn't understand what made him cry, but now when I think about it, I probably would've cried too if I was in his position. He had just started to be a part of his son's life and his son immediately accepted him as part of his family without hesitation.

In all honesty, I didn't know the full story until just a few minutes ago. Mom gave me an envelope and told me to read it once I was on the ship. I originally asked mom to tell me back at the Garrison, but she said it would've been easier for her to write down and now that I've read it, I completely understand why it was easier to write rather than speak. It was a great read, a bit overwhelming and intense at parts, but it kept me interested. Granted, there were a few details I could go my entire life without knowing, like how my mom and dad wanted to start getting ‘intimate’. I don't need to know how my brother, Leo, was conceived. However, I won't say anything. She wrote this from her heart and sometimes things just slip out. 

Oh, Leo. I was gonna miss him while I was gone. Sure, we had arguments in the past like regular siblings do, and he could be such a little shit disturber (Dad said he got that from Mom), however, Leo was undoubtedly the best brother anyone could ask for. He was my little buddy.

Soon, the ship started to move and rumble before taking off into the air. My family below started to get smaller and smaller, until I couldn’t see them anymore. It wasn’t long before I was able to see Earth quickly shrinking as the ship gained more speed. Tears started to blur my vision and my hand began to tremble.  _ 'Just breathe, Nate.' _ I thought to myself. _ 'Everything will be okay. You're with family. You're with--' _

A hand placed itself on my shoulder and I jumped a little, startled out of my thoughts.

"You okay, babe?" Asher, my boyfriend, asked.

I took a shaky inhale of breath before slowly letting it out.

"Yeah." I whispered. I looked down to the floor, trying to hide my tears but one managed to slip out. 

Asher, having coming back from the washroom, sat down on the bed beside me and placed his arm around my shoulder.

"Hey," He said gently, "Look at me." 

I reluctantly switched my gaze over to him, feeling a few more tears fall. Asher used his other hand to thumb away my tears, smiling at me softly. "Everything will be okay.  _ We'll  _ be okay." He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead, his hand still resting on my cheek. "I promise."

I chuckled and lightly bonked my head against his, “You’re such a sap.” 

“But I’m your sap and you’re stuck with me.” he purred in my ear. His lips brushed over my jawline. His hands massaged my hips and his kisses trailed up to my lips. I let myself get lost in his delirious heat. 

I slipped my hands under his deep yellow t-shirt and ran my fingers over his silky smooth skin. I traced every muscle of his back until I reached his shoulders when I held on tight. This wasn’t my first time at the rodeo, but every time he touched me, I felt like I was going to explode. I  _ craved _ more of him. 

“Oh no,” I yanked my hands away from Asher and pushed him at the voice, “It’s like another Lance and Keith.” 

“Sorry Princess,” Asher said defeated. 

Allura has always been a special person to my parents. She was the one that made them Paladins, and she watched them grow. Allura was the last of her kind, besides Coran that is. From what the old Paladins have told me about her, I’ve learned that if you ever cross Allura, you should just mark where your heart is so your death will be quicker. 

I met Allura when I met my father. But she knew me long before that. When Mom found out she was pregnant, she told Allura first. 

“I called for a meeting about the red Paladin, so you two better make your way into the living area before I drag you,” her smile said love, but her eyes said death. So, I ran as fast as I could into the living room where my cousins waited for us. 

Allura cleared her throat, “The reason you were called here is because the Universe is in need of help.”

“Then why didn’t you just call the old Paladins back?” Callie asked. She slouched back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. 

Selina glared at Callie for a second then turned back to Allura with stars in her eyes. I wanted to know why this was happening and how I can fix it. It’s only been ten minutes and I miss home like crazy. I blame Mom for loving me so much that I never want to leave her. 

“The old Paladins are grown up, they have their own lives. It would be wrong of us to take them away. Their time has faded. Now it’s your turn,” she said proudly. Coran, her advisor, came in with a case of the old bayard's that belonged to Paladin’s past. She held the green one in her hands as she paced back and forth, “As most of you know, your parents, or parent figures, had been chosen by their lions based on their personalities. Sadly, the green lion was left without her Paladin early, so it would be fair that the one who has already bonded with her should be the Paladin.” She placed the bayard in my lap, “That’s why you, Nate, shall be the paladin of the green lion. Treat her well.” 

In my lap holds the past, present, and future of my life. Mom saved the universe with this and I know I have to live up to her legacy. I wonder if Mom felt so excited and terrified when she was given this bayard. No, Mom is much more brave than me, she must’ve been glowing with eagerness. 

Allura grabbed the yellow bayard, “The Yellow Paladin must be kind and put others before themself. That’s why Asher, you will be the pilot of the yellow lion.” Just like Dad. I wonder if this means anything about Asher and my relationship?

She then took both the black bayard and the blue bayard, “The Blue Paladin is cunning, they think quick on their feet, but also know how to make others smile. They set their mind to something and make it happen. That’s why Callie, you shall be the pilot of the blue lion,” Allura handed the weapon to Callie, “And the Black Paladin is strong, a leader. They carry the weight of the entire team on their shoulders. They must be level headed and that’s why Selina will be the pilot of the black lion.” 

I found the entire scene ironic since Callie is the adoptive daughter of Uncle Lance and Uncle Keith, and I know Uncle Lance was the pilot of the blue lion. Then Selina is the adoptive daughter of Uncle Shiro and Uncle Matt, and Uncle Shiro was the pilot of the black lion. Then there’s me, with my mother’s bayard. Hold on… Something’s missing...

“Wait,” I shook my head, “What about the red lion?”

Allura sighed, “I’m afraid we haven’t found found her pilot yet.”

“But we’ll find them soon,” Coran butted in, “Until then, you four will start training without the fifth Paladin.”

“Now, get some sleep.” Allura said in a kind, yet firm voice. “We start first thing tomorrow.” 

“Yes, Princess!” We all said before we made our ways to the dorms. As Selina and Callie walked ahead of us, talking about their bayards, Asher pulled me behind one of the pillars and pressed me against it. 

“So,” he growled, “You wanna finish what we started?” 

Before he even gave me a chance to answer, someone said, “Don’t you even think about it, Asher.” Callie, of course, “You guys better not be making out from behind that pillar or I swear--”

“We aren’t making out!” I shot back.

“Not yet anyway,” Asher whispered, seductively.

“I heard that, Asher!” 

Asher sighed, and walked out of our hiding spot deciding to give up on continuing our heated moment. I growled in annoyance before making my way back to the girls, who were standing there with their arms crossed over their chests. 

“Damn, Callie.” I commented. “It's like you've got super sonic hearing!”

“Yeah,” Asher agreed with a small laugh. “It's almost inhuman.”

Callie’s expression immediately changes from annoyed to something completely different. It only happened for about a tick, so I couldn't really process what it was. The look on her face changes back to the original scowl she had, “It's not like you guys were  _ trying  _ to be quiet anyway.”

“Alright, that's enough, guys.” Selina calmly interjected. “We shouldn't be discussing this for multiple reasons, the main ones being that we need to get some sleep for tomorrow and that I don't want to hear about you guys getting it on.” 

I snorted, “Yeah, like  _ I _ have to listen to my cousin. You’re not my mom. I’ll do what I want,” then I looked at Asher and grabbed his hand, “and I’ll do  _ who _ I want too.”

Selina just shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose while Callie yelled quickly, “Okay, that's enough. Too much information!” She turned around on her heel and marched to her dorm, placing her hand on the scanner before the door  slid open. She stepped inside her dorm and poked her head around the edge of the door frame. “I’m going to sleep. I don't need to hear my little cousin talk about his sex life.”

I smiled smugly, crossing my arms over my chest. “You're just jealous I have a better sex life than you do.”

Callie scoffed, rolling her eyes in the process. “Hardly. Now, goodnight.” With that said, Callie’s door slid closed with a slight hiss. 

“Goodnight Ms. Cranky Pants!” I saluted her away. I could hear her seething with anger. Selina left shortly after, shaking her head and giving me the ‘disappointed mom’ look. I hated when she did that! Soon, it was only Asher and me left in the long halls of the castle.

Asher shook his head and leaned against the wall. I’ve always admired his long legs, I know it’s weird to point that part of him out, but being a short little nothing, I’m envious of long legs. Plus, my favorite part on Asher’s body are his thick thighs. 

“What?”  I asked.

“You should be a bit nicer to them,” he replied, “I mean, we’re stuck with them on a team, will you try to play nice?” 

I slunk up to him and leaned up onto my toes, “You  _ know  _ I’m a bad boy.” Asher shifted his weight making me stumble on my toes slightly. I fumbled and grabbed his shoulders to maintain my balance. 

Asher belted out a laugh, “You’re too cute to be a bad boy!” 

“Let me prove it then.” I purred in his ear. Asher choked on his laugh as I trailed my fingers down his sides.

“N-not tonight,” he sighed. I rolled back on my heels away from him. He rubbed his arm, almost embarrassed. His cheeks were stained with a pink blush and his gaze was glued to the floor.

“Ash,” I pressed a hand on his chest, “It’s okay, I understand. Will you come in and wish me a goodnight still?” 

He kissed my cheek, “Anything for you.” 

I grabbed Asher’s hand tightly, almost dragging him to my room. He probably knew what I  _ actually _ wanted, but he didn't protest. In fact, as soon as we reached Asher’s dorm, I turned to see his eyes were glazed over with a combination of love and lust. Mission Accomplished. 

I gazed up into his eyes, putting on my most innocent face, “What’s wrong babe?” I pouted playfully. “You look a little warm. Are you feeling okay?”

“Don't you even  _ think _ about it...”

I slowly brought my hand to his face, touching his flushed cheek. “Hm… I hope you aren't getting a fever.” 

“Nate…” Asher wheezed. 

I slithered my fingers from his cheek casually down to his chest. “If only there was something I could-”, I palmed his groin, “-do about it.”

A strangled moan escaped from Asher’s throat, his head falling into the crook of my neck.

“Fuck you.” he panted. His hot breath ghosted over my skin sending jitters of  sweet pleasure down my spine.

“Yes, please.”  I moaned.

Asher tried to compose himself. Lifted his head from my shoulder and grabbed my arm. His eyes were burning with a sweet hot desire that I’ve longed for.  His innocently lips pressed against mine and wrapped his arms around my waist. 

I love Asher, honestly I do, but he can be  _ too _ gentle. I suppose that makes him the perfect candidate for the Yellow Paladin, but for my intimate life it’s sort of a mood killer. He’s always afraid he’ll hurt me if he tries to be rough. He says that he’s heard stories where inexperience people were in pain or uncomfortable or even bled during sex, and being the gentle lover he is, he never wanted to do that to me. I could go without bleeding, but what’s pleasure without a little pain? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a masochist, but in every light corner there is always a strand of darkness. 

“Don’t worry babe,” I said between kisses, “I won’t break.” 

“Nate please, I don’t want to risk hurting you,” he squeezed my shoulders and rubbed tiny circles down to the small of my back. 

“Come  _ on  _ Asher,” I whined like a five year old in a candy store, “What can I do that will convince you I won’t be hurt? Be a little rough with me,” I smirked knowing exactly what to do, “Unless you don’t think you can handle me?” I sighed as I gently pushed away from him and sauntered over to his door. I knew his eyes were glued to my hips that purposely swayed back and forth. I turned back to him with a wicked smile, “That’s a shame, because I was really hoping to relieve some  _ stress _ with you. But if you can’t handle it then-”

In a flash, Asher slammed me against the wall. Not in a way to hurt me, but he pushed past his cautious filter and let himself loose. He rolled his hips against mine making any witty come back get clogged in my throat. 

“I dare you to say that again, Nathan,” he growled in my ear. 

It’s not like I have a name kink or something, but when someone uses my full name in an intimate setting, it’s definitely a turn-on. 

“I w-was saying i-if you can’t handle i-it-” I let out a shaky breath, “Oh God, A-Asher please!”

Asher smacked his lips against mine. I moaned wantonly into the kiss before Asher’s lips made their way down my neck, peppering my skin with light touches. It felt  _ exhilarating.  _

He stopped momentarily to pay close attention to my collarbone. He wanted to make sure he marked me as his, and I fucking loved it.

All of my troubled thoughts flew right out the window as the night burned away my anxieties as Asher and I melted into one. 

-

  
  


**CALLIE:**

I'm going to kill them. I'm going to fucking  _ kill them _ . It's not that I have a problem with them screwing around. They're a couple without parental supervision, it's gonna happen no matter despite my protest. What I  _ do _ have a problem with however, is that they cannot control the volume of the noises they make. With Nate's screaming and the constant banging against the wall, it's a wonder how I actually got some kind of sleep. Dad gave me his noise cancelling headphones to help me sleep, and they helped a bit, but they didn’t really do the perfect job. I wonder if Selina got any sleep. If so, she needed to show me her secret. 

Why did I have to get stuck with Asher as a neighbor? I knew that it was really Nate who instigates him into being “a little rougher,” (Nate dragged me into one of his talks about his sex life. Definitely something I didn’t want to hear), but that didn’t mean it gave Asher the right to cause an freaking earthquake. 

Begrudgingly, I rolled out of bed and stretched with a slight yawn. I glanced at the ‘Earth clock’ Coran had installed to see that it was almost 6 am. I had only been asleep for three hours. Great.

“This is bullshit,” I grumbled as I rolled out of bed. I threw on my sneakers and pulled my hair into a tight ponytail. 

A sharp screeching sound echoed over the castle comms along with Allura yelling, ‘EVERYBODY UP! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY! GET TO THE CONTROL ROOM! HURRY!’

After I nearly had a heart attack, I grabbed my blue jacket and ran out of my room. My heart raced as I made my way into this large room with a control panel. The walls were like computer screens that were only activated by Allura. It was also an intercom so we could communicate with other ships. It’s like a scene out of Star Trek. 

I stopped short in the room as I smacked into my little cousin. He shrieked and flopped to the ground. It was  _ way _ more satisfying than it should’ve been. 

“Hey!” he yelled from the floor, “Watch it!” 

“You shouldn’t have been in the doorway then,” I huffed as I held out a hand to help him to his feet. He reluctantly accepted the help and I yanked him to his feet.

Nate is short, like his mother. He was a slender boy with a round face and a full head of thick dark hair. He got his father’s features, but his mother’s soul. Nate had to be the most intelligent person I have ever met, there is no code he can’t crack.

I’ve always been a bit envious of him, I mean, he has the luxury of holding his birth parents hands while I’m still lost in a sea of curiosity. He’s beautiful, smart, funny, and strong, what’s not to love about him? 

“Callie!” I swear I heard my Dad call my name. 

Everyone else was gazing in awe at the screens.When I looked, my jaw dropped since I saw my family (including extended family) were smiling at us through a skype call sort of system. 

“Surprise,” the Princess smiled, “With a little help from Pidge, we have made it so you guys can call home.” 

I couldn’t hide the smile that was plastered on my face. My Dads and Salem, my older brother, were waving at me. I lazily brought up my hand to wave back. 

My brother and I were in multitudes of foster homes before we were placed with Dad and Papa. Salem and I aren’t related by blood, but when I was young, Salem decided that I would be his little sister and he refused to move anywhere without me. 

“Kids!” Papa cheered. He was the original pilot of the blue lion, and I was following him in his footsteps, “How is everything?” He married the pilot of the red lion, I wonder if the new pilot will be just as kind at Dad.

I snorted, “My walls are a bit thin and I can hear  _ everything. _ ” I glared over at Nate and Asher. 

The dirty blonde boy leaned against the wall and looked at his shoes. He was the only one here without ties to the old Paladins… unless you count his tie with Nate. 

“Didn’t I give you noise canceling headphones?” Papa asked.

“That you stole from me,” Aunt Pidge crossed her arms over her chest.

They weren’t in the same room, it was like a group skype call, so Aunt Pidge couldn’t punch Papa like she does. 

Papa opened his mouth to speak when Dad glared at him. It was almost like he  _ knew _ the headphones wouldn't work. Dad said, “Don’t worry, Sweetheart. I’ll make them shut up.”

Nate gulped down his pride and squeaked, “Uncle Keith…”

“Child,” Dad managed to push Papa out of the screen so all I saw was Dad’s glare.

“Uncle,” Nate’s smirk said ‘two can play at that game’ like the cocky idiot he truly is.

Unlike my parents, Aunt Pidge knew everything, and by everything, I mean that she could sense trouble from miles away. 

“Nathan Garrett Holt, I swear I will fly to where you are and kick your ass until you and Asher learn to STOP making unnecessary noises!” she growled out. Nate turned a ghostly pale color at his mother’s threat which made me giggle. 

“Nate, aren’t you a bit young to be doing such things?” Uncle Hunk said cautiously. He was like the voice of reason to Aunt Pidge’s zany outbursts. Their younger son, Leo, was bouncing up and down in his seat as he saw his big brother. The eight year old boy had been babbling nonsense in the background.

Nate mumbled, “Weren’t you a bit young too?” 

You see, Aunt Pidge had Nate when she was eighteen years old. She ended up running away because she was afraid, and if I’m being honest, I would do the same. She is a role model to me because I’ve never met a more strong and confident woman. 

The small woman turned to her husband and said, “He has a point, Hunk.”

“Not helping, Pidge.”

“What, it’s true!” 

“Alright that’s enough guys!” Uncle Shiro interjected. He had his arm around Uncle Matt who was Aunt Pidge’s blood brother. “Allura wanted us to call so we could prepare them for their training, not talk about, uh… this.” Uncle Matt snickered and pressed a sweet kiss on Uncle Shiro’s arm.

“It  _ is _ training, Shiro!” Aunt Pidge whined like a child, “Without a good night’s rest, nothing will get done. Haven’t we learned that the hard way from Lance and Keith’s late night  _ adventures _ .” 

GROSS! “Too much information!!” I groaned as I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head.

“Can we please just talk about training? We’re running out of daylight here,” Selina asked. She was our leader, probably because she was the adoptive child of Uncle Shiro and Uncle Matt. 

“We have no daylight, we’re in space,” Nate crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his weight. We couldn’t go one more second without Nate’s commentary now could we?

I could hear Aunt Pidge yell from the background, ‘That’s my son right there! I used to say that all the time’ but Uncle Hunk rubbed her shoulders to keep her at bay. 

“We are currently on a planet with two suns, Nate…” our leader sighed.

“Let me have this,” Nate coughed into his sleeve.

Asher was munching on his bottom lip during the entire call. Let’s just say his ‘goodbye’ with his parents wasn’t a happy one. His parents are rather homophobic and they learned that he was in a romantic relationship with Nate, so they started yowling at him and ordering him to obey them. When Asher retaliated, his father slapped him so hard that he fell to the ground. Papa and Uncle Shiro pried Asher’s Dad away from the pilot, but I’m sure his cheek still stings from the initial impact. 

“Okay,” Allura clapped her hands, “I think that is enough earthling calls for now, we must start our training!” 

“Kick their asses Nate! I love you!” Aunt Pidge cheered. 

“Be safe, Princess. Dad, Salem and I love you,” Papa smiled. 

When I was younger, Papa would dress me up as a Princess and we would play a fantasy game together. I adored the flashy dresses and being treated like royalty. He would call me ‘Princess Callie’ and the name has stuck. He honestly misses those days when I was a little kid and clung to his leg.

“Nate is small, you can take him down,” Dad smirked playfully at Nate.

Nate’s face burned a bright red, “Hey!” he exclaimed. 

Uncle Shiro interrupted, “Selina, I know you can do this. Dad and I love you very much. We know you’re going to accomplish amazing things.” 

“Thanks Father,” she smiled at him.

Aunt Pidge must’ve noticed how Asher trembled. He balled his fists at his side as he refused to look up. Nate knew that it wasn’t the time to go near him, everyone knew this. I felt terrible looking at the poor boy.

“Asher,” Aunt Pidge said, “I’m so proud of you! You’ll be fine.” Asher gasped as he stared at her. 

Aunt Pidge has known Asher since he was eight years old and playing astronaut with little Nate. They used to live in the same building until Aunt Pidge moved into a house to give her family more room to run around. 

“Leo says he misses you both, right?” Uncle Hunk nudged the smaller boy. He shook his head and continued, “Nate, be yourself. And Asher, treat Yellow right. She’s sensitive.” 

Nate trotted over to his boyfriend and wrapped the boy in his arms. Asher, being much taller than Nate, still smiled brightly at Aunt Pidge and Uncle Hunk. 

This was another thing I envied Nate for, he had someone that loved him. Asher and Nate have been together since they were thirteen years old. Well, technically they were much younger but they only started counting the days when they were thirteen. 

“Mom,” Leo squeaked, “What does ass mean?”

“Leo, no,” She nudged the child away to play. 

Then there was a loud crashing noise and Leo cried, “Shit!” which Nate happily taught the child before he left.

Aunt Pidge slammed her hands down on the table as she yelled, “What did you just say?!” She ran off screen

“We have to go! You’re all going to be amazing Paladins!” Uncle Hunk chased after her.

Nate bit his lip, “Well… my little brother is fucked-”

“-Pardon! Nathan, what did you just-” then the call hung up before Aunt Pidge could finish her outburst. Nate was shaking in his boots.

Coran sighed happily, “Some things never change, right Princess?”

“That doesn’t matter. Everyone get to the training room, now!” the Altean Princess commanded.

That’s right, this isn’t some fun little trip, this is reality. I’m actually going to be fighting evil aliens to save the universe against forces that I still don’t know. Allura was waiting to tell us about them until we found the pilot of the red lion. Honestly, I wanted to just take a deep breathe, I was still trying to process that this is actually happening. 

“I-I’m going to stop by the bathroom real quick,” I pointed away from the group as I split away.

I allowed myself to get lost in the innocent white walls as I traced the lines on my blue bayard. I wonder, why me? Will I be able to save the universe? I’m nothing like my parents and I’m afraid that, in the heat of the moment, I won’t be able to save the people I love the most. It’s selfish, but it’s been clogging my mind. 

Somehow, I made my way into the dark room where the giant gem that powered the entire castle sat on it’s pedestal. I heard banging and I jumped. I summoned my weapon, which was a gun and stood my ground.

“W-who’s there?” I called out. 

Then I saw him, a boy with dark hair, like Nate’s, but he was scrawny and dirty. His clothes were torn and caked in God knows what. He looked frightened. His long bangs covered one of his stunning blue eyes as well as part of a few scars that were littered around his face. He looked absolutely mortified. 

I wanted to interrogate him about where he came from and what he was doing. My hands were shaking too much as my blood ran cold. I could almost taste blood rising up my throat as I mustered up every ounce of confidence I had.

I put my gun to his head and growled, “Who the quiznak are you?” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryker: Here is the second chapter!! Enjoy reading and feel free to share with frens and stuffs. Maddie and I are very proud of this and we are so happy you guys took the time to read it. 
> 
> Tell us what you think of this chapter! Enjoy!

** CALLIE:  **

Take a deep breath and go over the situation… 

Alright, so I’m in space and part of Voltron. I’m a pilot of a robotic killer lioness and I am running on maybe three hours of sleep. OH, let’s not forget that all I wanted to do was fucking pee but I find some guy trying to steal the crystal that powers the entire castle. Now, my blaster is pointed at his head (at least I hope it’s pointed at his head). 

“Damn.” I heard the intruder snicker. “Calm down, sweetheart. What’s a cute little thing like you handling a giant weapon like that?”

Oh, hell no! I thought this guy was just gonna surrender quietly, not give me any trouble and beg for mercy; I mean, I’d probably do that if I was in his position. However, he thought it was a better idea to open is giant trap. One minute he looked like he was about to crap his pants and the next minute he thinks he’s turned into a smooth criminal. Nope! He was definitely not gonna get away with that. No one calls me  cute !

I quickly lowered my gun and fired a warning shot near his foot. He wasn't hit, but the sudden blast caused him to fall to the ground unceremoniously on his ass.

“Shit! What the hell was that for?!” He yelled. 

“Sh-shut up!” I barked, cursing at myself for stuttering. I tightened the grip around my blaster and stepped closer toward him. As I got a better look at him, I realized. “You’re… You're human.”

The strange teen just looked at me like it was the most obvious thing in the world. What would someone like him be doing this far out in the galaxy? Oh well, the speculating could wait. I shook my head to bring myself back to the situation at hand.

“Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?!”

The intruder scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Like I'm actually gonna tell you that. You may have a weapon on you, but you don't scare me sweetheart.”

I shot another blast toward him. He yelped and quickly backed away, his back hitting against the crystal. “Will you cut that out already?!”

I rolled my eyes before biting out. “Whoops, my hand slipped. After all, it's a  _ giant weapon. _ ”

Although it appeared that I was handling myself just fine, on the inside, I was freaking out. This was my first time using a weapon, let alone a bayard, and it was also my first time dealing with an intruder. Hell, I haven't even started training yet and now I had to deal with this asshole?! 

My heart raced as I tried to figure out how to get myself out of this situation. What would Papa and Dad do… 

Right! The comms! 

Princess Allura changed the comms after Papa got handcuffed to a tree and was far from his helmet. Now if you yell for the comms, they will activate, but you have to be near your helmet or the castle comms. 

“Comms!” I yelled. The little blue light on the wall flickered so I knew it was listening. “Guys!” I cried, “There’s an intruder in the crystal room! I need back up.”

“What can we do?” I heard Selina holler over the comms. 

“I could use Asher, Allura, and you here,” I replied to her keeping one eye on the intruder, “Nate and Coran should secure the castle and put it on lock down so the intruder can't escape.”

“Why can’t  _ I  _ fight?!” Nate whined, “Oh, it’s because I’m short, isn’t it?!”

I smiled at the stranger awkwardly before I leaned over at the comm and hissed, “Now is not the time to be sensitive.” 

“I’m not being sensitive!”

It didn’t occur to me that I took my eyes off of the intruder. When I turned back, he was gone. I felt like my entire world was flopped on it’s side and all I could breathe was, “Oh shit.”

“Callie what happened?” Selina said through the comm. “Callie, do you copy?” 

“Uh,” I was still in shock, “T-the intruder might’ve slipped through my fingers-” 

“Alright,” Selina sighed, “Asher and I will split up to find him, Callie make sure that he’s still not in the crystal room then split off. Nate, lock down the castle so nobody can get in or out.”

“On it,” Nate grumbled.

Great, why does it always have to be me? First day as a paladin and I lost the bad guy… Good start. 

  
  


** ASHER: **

An intruder wasn’t part of the plan. I’m not ready for any sort of combat, so why is this happening now?

Honestly, it was much easier on Earth when all I had to do was hide my relationship with Nate… Yeah, that’s not much better. But you would do the same if your father would rant on about how homosexual people, like Nate, are wrong and different. He tried to forbid me from seeing Nate because he thought that Nate would turn me gay, but I’ve always loved Nate. Last time I saw my parents, I came out to them and my Dad punched me in the jaw. Just thinking of that moment makes my heart feel like it’s being squeezed by Edward Scissorhands. 

Anyway, the lock down alarms blared meaning Nate successfully figured out the castle systems. I smiled at the thought of Nate’s smug grin and I know I won’t hear the end of his accomplishment, but that is something I love about him. He isn’t afraid to boast, yet every word he utters has a bitter undertone.  

I turned the corner and slammed into something tall and soft. Before I knew it, I had fallen forward over the tall and soft being.

“OUCH!” the person yelled as we fell to the floor with a loud bang. 

He had long dark hair, kind of like Nate, but this stranger’s eyes were icy blue and only one was visible. Scars littered his complexion and the deepest fear imbedded in his eyes. This must be the intruder!

I grabbed his wrists and pinned them over his head as I straddled his stomach. He thrashed underneath me, and I didn’t want to hurt him so I pushed him firmly against the floor so he had no chance of escaping. 

“Guys!” I shouted towards the comms. “The intruder has been found and is restrained! Meet me outside the training deck!” 

“We’re on our way!” Selina said. 

The boy stopped thrashing and let himself go limp in utter defeat. He turned away so I couldn’t see him bite his bottom lip.  The longer I continued to stare, the more I started to learn about him. Even though he was covered in dirt and grime, I could see that he was human. He was around my height and couldn't be older than 17. What the hell? How did he even get here? We’re light years away from Earth! I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard his breath hitch a little, like he was trying (and failing) to get more air into his lungs.  He looked so upset, I almost felt guilty for holding him down.

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked. He looked up at me. His one eye was glistening from unshed tears. “My name’s A-” 

“Asher!” I jumped squeezing the intruder’s wrists making him wince. I craned my neck to look at Nate with his arms crossed over his chest. “What’s happening here?” 

“Nate, don’t overthink this,” I groaned, “I just-”

“-You caught the slippery bastard!” I cringed when I heard Callie and Selina meet us with Allura and Coran. 

After a beat, Nate cleared his throat, “Y-you’re still on top of him.” 

“Oh!” I rolled off of the intruder and held out a hand for him, “I’m sorry.”

The stranger stares at the hand. Nate growled softly as the boy reached up to take my hand. He flinched away and said, “Look, I don’t want to get in the way of you and your…” He noticed Nate’s death glare, “Um... child, but I should really get going.”

“I'm not a child!! I'm 16!” Nate huffed.

“Oh! My bad. You're just so... small,” the dark-haired boy smirked. He knew he was getting on Nate’s last nerve and he took amusement in getting a rouse out of my boyfriend. 

Nate isn’t the type of person to take things lightly. He is fueled by his emotions which is a blessing (especially when we get between the sheets) and a curse. Nate has a kind spirit, if only  _ he _ could see that...

Selina noticed how frustrated Nate had become as the stranger took my hand and I helped him to his feet. 

“What should we do with him?” Selina asked. 

“I vote we kill him!” Nate hissed.

The stranger squeaked, “Isn’t that a little morbid?”

“I’ll show you exactly what little can do,” Nate said as he slunk over to the boy. The boy’s eyes widened in both fear and anger. 

He took a defensive stance before Allura interrupted the possible fight, “You will do no such thing, Nathan.” 

Nate stopped in his tracks, his hands balled into fists. I quickly made my way over to him and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him close. I rested my chin on his head and rubbed little circles on his hipbones. “I hate him,” he grumbled. 

Allura, Selina, and Coran took the stranger into an empty room to lock him in there until we decide what to do with him. 

Nate spun around in my hold and pressed a kiss on my lips. 

“You’re mine,” he pouted. 

Callie smirked, “Well little cousin, looks like you’re jealous over the new guy.” 

“Shut your face hole!”

Nate tried to march up to her but I grabbed his arm and gently pulled him back to me. I remember why I love him every time I gaze into his bright brown eyes. 

“Babe, relax,” I rubbed his arms, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m yours and yours forever,” I pressed a quick kiss on his neck. “And you are  _ mine _ ,” I purred in his ear. Nate shuttered in my hold. He rubbed his hips against mine unconsciously.

“P-prove it,” he breathed, “Show me how much I belong to you.”

I chuckled as I completely forgot that other people were around. I laced my fingers through Nate’s dark silky hair as I kissed from his temples to his cheekbones. He groaned gently as he yanked his head forward so I pulled his hair. 

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled to him.

He trailed his hands up my chest and slipped under my black hoodie. He made sure to touch every inch of my clothed upper body then held my face. 

“Pull my hair more,” he smiled innocently, “I  _ love _ the feeling. No need to be so-”

“-gentle,” I finished his sentence, “I know. But I worry about you since I know there is only so much you can handle.” 

“As long as you don’t make me bleed, I’m fine,” Nate smirked, “I mean, we can try some things if you’d like-”

“Nope!” I forgot Callie was there. I took my hands out of Nate’s hair. “Not tonight!” she ripped me away from her cousin, “If tonight will be anything like last night, I’ll be getting no sleep.”

“How did you even hear us last night?” I asked her as I put my hands on my hips, “Unlike most times, we were actually trying to be quiet.”

“Well, I could still hear you guys loud and clear!” she scoffed, “So no fucking around tonight!”

“Damn, okay,” Nate chuckled sarcastically. 

Then, something weird happened. I don’t even know how to explain it. Something  _ changed _ about Callie. She is usually bubbly and feisty. But I saw something flicker in her eyes, like true anger mixed with some unearthly being. 

“I’m  _ serious! _ ”she snarled like some beast. 

Nate and I were speechless. I mean, what were we supposed to say to this? The tension in the air was so thick I could take a big bite out of it. Nate backed away from Callie and reached out to hold my hand. 

Callie’s eyes went wide. She threw a hand over her mouth in horror and shook her head in disbelief. 

“D-did you just growl at me?” Nate breathed cautiously. 

Though, Callie couldn’t answer him. Her eyes glazed over with tears as she sniveled softly. She began to back away. I reached out for her and asked, “Callie, are you okay?” 

Callie nods quickly. She spun around on her heels and bolted to her dorm. Nate and I followed her but she slid the door shut and locked it behind her. I didn’t know whether to pester her or just leave her. Nate pressed his hand to the door but I touched his shoulder and shook my head. Callie needs to be left alone for now. Well, at least until we figure out what’s wrong.

“What’s wrong with her?” Nate asked as he leaned against the door. He crossed his arms over his chest and propped one foot up on the door. He hung his head low to the point where his chin rested on his collarbone. 

I cupped his cheek and tilted his head so he was looking at me. A tiny stream of tears trickled down his rosy cheeks. I used the pad of my thumbs to wipe away the salty liquid. 

“She’s probably just stressed with everything that’s been going on,” I breathed out a smile. 

Nate brushed my hands from him and he turned to the door, “I’m going to go check on her-” he reached out to knock on the door.

“No!” I gasped and grabbed his wrist, “Not yet.”

Nate shook his head, “Well, something must be wrong!” his voice grew louder and louder, “What happened just now wasn’t normal! Especially not for Callie! S-she’s my cousin and I can’t just stand here doing nothing like I always do! I want to help her for once, but no I can’t because I’m just useless-” 

“Nate stop it,” I snapped as I pulled him into a tight hug. I rested one hand on the back of his head and my other arm was wrapped around his small waist. I hushed him gently as his body quaked from the muffled sobs that trembled from his throat. “Give her some space,” I told him, “Maybe she’ll confide in us later. Now, let's go see how Selina is doing. Okay?” 

“I-I,” Nate could barely speak. He pressed his face against my chest and let his tears stain my shirt.

“It’s okay,” I rubbed his back, “I’ll always love you.” 

I could hear Callie from the other side of her door whimper, “what’s wrong with me?” but I didn’t tell Nate. Let’s not worry him anymore. 

-

Nate and I met up with Selina, Allura, and Coran outside of a holding room. 

“There you two are!” Allura smiled, “Wait, where’s Callie?”

“She needs some time,” I looked over at Nate, “But did you guys learn anything about the intruder?” 

“His name is Nova… that’s about it,” Selina growled in frustration, “He’s so annoying!” 

“He refuses to share any other information with us,” Coran added. “Which is expected, considering the current predicament he is in.”

“But that is going to change.” Allura said firmly. “I am determined to get him to speak; as the captain of this ship, it is my responsibility to seek information and answers for an intruder’s actions, especially if it involves my team.”

She turned around and quickly marched toward the door. 

“How are you going to get him to talk?” Selina said, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Allura stopped in front of the door. “I’ll think of something.” She sighed.

“You, Coran and I have already tried talking to him,” her gaze switched over to Coran with a slightly miffed look. “Well, if you consider Coran attempting to use mind control on him was a form of trying.”

I looked at Coran with slight judgement. Nate did the same before letting out a slight snicker.

“What?!” He loudly questioned. “If he isn't going to talk, the least he can do is make himself useful and get me a sandwich! That intruder scare really worked up my appetite!” 

He didn’t seem  _ that _ dangerous, so why is everyone treating him like some criminal? He looked rather… human. If he was a cold-blooded killer, I doubt he would have that much fear in his glassy gaze.

“Let me talk to him,” I said. 

“What?” Nate gasped, “Babe, you can’t!”

“Why not?” I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my foot.

Nate clamped up and shrunk a little. His cheeks were dusted pink as he mumbled, “N-nothing.” I chuckled and pecked his cheek.

“Trust me a little,” I told him, “Remember, I’m all yours. But I can’t ignore a person in pain. He seems upset and I think he meant no harm.” 

“Are you sure about this Asher?” the dark-haired girl asked, “What if he hurts you?”

I pressed open the door, “He won’t.”

The boy was laying on the stripped bed. He looked like he was shivering, it was rather cold in this spare room. We call the red paladin’s room the ‘holding room’ because it’s so frigid in here. Nate’s Uncle Keith would tell us stories about how he ‘froze his ass off’ in this room so he was always with Nate’s Uncle Lance. 

“Hey,” I said as I took a seat in one of the open chairs next to the bed. He looked up at me with lifeless ice eyes- er, eye. “My name is Asher,” I said.

“I know,” he scoffed, “That child said it earlier.”

“That ‘child’ is actually my sixteen year old boyfriend,” I chuckled, “And he’s really insecure about his height, so make my life easier and leave him alone.” Nova tried his best not to crack a smile. “Are you hungry? I could ask Selina to get us something to eat-” I got up to ask Selina for some space goo (which actually tastes pretty good).

“Can I trust you?” Nova interrupted quietly, “Wait, n-nevermind.” 

Why is he asking me this? I could tell his story was painful and I’m willing to hear it. Sometimes, ranting to a stranger is easier than telling your best friend. 

I sat back down in the seat and reached out to brush my fingertips over the edge of the stone cold mattress. He flinched away from me but eventually scooted closer. He shakily brought his hand to touch my fingers and he breathed out in awe.

“It’s okay,” I smiled at him, “I’m here for you. I know you don’t know me, but you don’t have to because I won’t hurt you. I didn’t hurt you earlier, did I?” he gasped. “And you can trust me.” 

“My name’s Nova,” I knew that already, “A-and I didn’t want to hurt anyone.” he sat up on the bed, “I’m all alone in this universe, I just wanted some spare parts and food. I swear. A-and maybe some scrap metal to sell.” 

“Well, that crystal you wanted actually powers the entire castle ship,” I shook my head, “But why are you alone? What happened?”

Nova took a deep breath. “I can't really remember everything that happened. I've somewhat blocked it out of my memory.” He then started to laugh bitterly. “But slowly a few bits and pieces come back. Every time I look in the mirror a new memory comes back to me.”  He moved his hair behind his ear and I felt my heart stop. His eye… It wasn’t normal! It was robotic, like Nate’s Uncle Shiro’s arm! I scrambled to his side and held his face gently so I could look at this closer. Yet, I have no idea what I’m looking at, Nate would be better at this.  Again, he flinched at my touch, but soon relaxed. Wow, he seems to do that a lot. 

“Is this… Galra tech?” I asked. 

“It’s a long story,” he pushed me away.

I took his hand gently, he seemed more fragile than Nate, “I have time.” 

He told me about his past and he was human. He was orphaned at a young age and was staying at a foster family before being captured by the Galra and forced into slavery. However, he managed to escape and was soon rescued by a kind alien named Kai. He told me that they lived together for a few years but then they got kidnapped again and thrown into an arena. Now, the Arena was a place that Nate’s Uncle Matt and Shiro went when they were taken by the Galra. It was this place where different beings were forced to fight to the death for the entertainment of the galaxy. Honestly, when I hear about it, I feel sick, like my insides curl and I want to rip my hair out. 

But, at this point, Nova got upset and couldn’t speak anymore. I knew he wasn’t a threat though, he was misunderstood. He needs someone to love him and show him that he is important. 

So, I left the room after about four hours (I didn’t know I was in there that long). My precious Nate was asleep against the wall next to the door.  I chuckled and knelt to tuck locks of his dark hair behind his ear. He groaned fluttered open his light brown eyes. 

“Ash?” he mumbled as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He yawned like a little kitten as he stretched his tired limbs.

“Yeah, it’s me,” I smiled softly. 

Nate was his cutest when he first wakes up. He has this lulled look on his face and his movements are sluggish. He is giggly and possesses a giddy glow to him. It seems like the world is at peace right when Nate wakes up. (He’s actually at his cutest all the time). 

“Well?” Allura asked. Callie had come out of her room by the time I was done talking with Nova. 

“He’s harmless,” I replied, “Honestly, he needs a family or people who will look after him. He’s all alone, but he’s very strong, and kind of impulsive.” 

Allura’s lips curled into a smirk. I helped Nate to his feet as he said, “Allura, I don’t like the look on your face.”

“Let’s take our new friend to see the lions, maybe it’ll spark something in his memory. He was with the Galra so maybe he learned something there,” she said.

She opened the door and grabbed Nova by the arm. He struggled in her grasp until he saw me and threw himself into my arms pushing Nate away from us. Nate growled possessively. 

“Get off of my boyfriend!” Nate stomped his foot. His face burned a crimson red as his chest heaved. 

“Nate,” I groaned, “Leave him alone, he’s been through too much.” 

“And!” He squeaked.

“Don’t be a brat,” Callie snapped at Nate. My boyfriend yelped and curled into himself. I’m sure I’ll have to undo this damage later. 

Nate doesn’t take kindly to criticism. It’s not that he can’t handle it, but he internalized these words and he thinks that tiny flaws own his personality. Which isn’t true, Nate has his flaws, but he is perfect in my opinion. He never comes to me and basically bashes himself for compliments, I know when he’s breaking on the inside. Sometimes, I feel like Nate is a ticking time bomb seconds away from exploding. All I have to do is cut the correct wire and it stops, but that doesn’t make him less explosive. 

“It’s okay, I love you,” I placed a hand on his head and ruffled his hair. 

“I love you too,” he mumbled in defeat. He pouted his bottom lip and crossed his arms over his chest. 

Allura led us to where the lions were kept. Currently, she had them all in one secure room after the old paladins retired. The red lion was surrounded by this patterned force field. Every lion responded to us by their eyes flashing yellow. Green even bent down to nudge Nate with her nose. He giggled and rubbed her head. He quickly bonded with her since he was technically already bonded.

His mother was pregnant with him when she was piloting Green, so Green is used to Nate’s presence. Honestly, Nate’s Mom is one of the most amazing women I have ever met. Pidge or Katie, she doesn’t care what you call her, was like a second mother to me. When I needed advice on life or love, she would sit me down and let me spill my guts. 

“Um, guys…” Callie pointed to Red. 

Red’s eyes glowed a magnificent yellow and she let out a roar. She bent down to look at us. I pushed Nova towards her, and she nuzzled him. 

“Dude, what's going on?” Nova asked, slightly nervous. “Why is this alien cat thing nuzzling me?”

Suddenly, Red’s tail started to swish back and forth before she started to rumble. I guess that's equivalent to purring for mechanical lions, or something. 

“What does this mean?” Selina turned to Allura whom was glowing with pride. 

“It means we’ve found our red paladin! Congratulations Nova, you are the pilot of the red lion!” She put her hand up to calm Red. 

“What if I don’t want to be a pilot?” Nova smirked and shook his head.

Wrong move… Allura calmly walked up to Nova and placed her hands on his shoulders, “The way I see it is you can either join us in forming Voltron as the red Paladin, OR you can rot away in a cell. You choose.” Nova’s cocky smile faded as he took two steps back.  He banged against Red’s nose only to be nudged back towards Allura. Looks like Red is trying to encourage Nova to be her Paladin.

I really hope he picks the right choice. Nova shouldn’t be locked away, he doesn’t deserve it..

I looked over at Nate. He was smiling in anticipation to get rid of Nova. Callie and Selina exchanged glances. I nearly began to bite my nails to relieve the tension in the room. 

“I guess I have to go with being the paladin or whatever, there is no way in hell I’m going to be locked in a prison cell again!” Nova sighed in defeat.  He then looked over towards Nate, who was glaring at him. A mischievous smirk spread across his face.  “Plus, I’d love to stay with my new friend, Asher!” 

At this point, I could hear Nate sizzling with rage. This is going to be a long journey… 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryker: SO here's the next chapter!!
> 
> Do Maddie and me a solid and tell us who your fav character is and why!  
> Why do i ask this? cuz we want to see some sort of feed back xD
> 
> HAPPY READING!!

**SELINA:**

A few days had passed since Nova joined the team and became a paladin. So far, everything had been okay, other than the fact that Nova kept butting heads with both Nate and Callie. It's very annoying, considering we have to work together as a team and the likelihood of us forming Voltron at the moment is very slim. We hadn't been very successful in trying to get to actually _know_ Nova.

The first day we found him and he was appointed as the red paladin, he spent the rest of the day in his room. Allura just told us to give him some time to clean up a bit and rest. When he came out from his room and actually met us in the kitchen, we almost didn't recognize him. Now that he was clean and his clothes weren't covered in mud, he looked less like a thief and more like a teammate. However, he’s definitely made somewhat of an impact on our team, sometimes a more negative one rather than a positive one.

Nova has this nasty habit of bothering my little cousin. I can tell that Nova kind of gets a kick out of seeing Nate fume, and while we’ve all picked on one another, Nova seemed to do it the most.

I’ve been with Nate through thick and thin yet I’ve never seen him so possessive over Asher. I know Nate tends to be a bit sensitive, but every time Nova is in the room, Nate will cling to Asher as if his life depended on it.

Allura had called the team in full uniform to the training room. Over the past few days, she had put us through intense training, like clearing our minds to mentally for Voltron, getting used to our lions and actually forming Voltron, then combat that forced us to protect each other. Honestly, I don’t know how my Father put up with it, I can’t feel my legs and it’s only been a few days.

The training room was a greyish white color  and very open. There was a large rectangle imbedded in the floor like an arena and a box above that looked like the place where the commentators watched sports games.  Allura had us sit down in the middle of the floor as she and Coran mumbled to each other before she turned back to us.

“Alright,” she sighed, “The reason I called you all here is because the universe is in trouble--”

“How?” Callie interrupted. “I thought Zarkon was defeated and he was quarantined?”

Allura nodded. “Yes, I was getting to that. Although Zarkon and his fleet haven’t been active since your parents defeated him, we have recently found out that there is another threat to the Galaxy. The old Black Paladin had ejected a dangerous Galra prisoner, Sendak, into space. We thought nothing of this because we assumed he was dead. It turns out many planets are sending out distress signals because the Galra fleet is attacking again. We have found out that Sendak is in charge of this and we _need_ Voltron to stop him.”

I remember Father told me stories of Sendak. He played mind games on Father and pushed him to the brink of mental exhaustion. Sendak was not a threat to be taken lightly.

“I can handle him,” Callie smirked and rubbed her nose.

Nate snorted, “Yeah, _you_ taking on a big scary Galra. Mom told me about him. He infiltrated the castle and took down Uncle Shiro and Uncle Lance. Then Mom tried to trick him, but he grabbed her with his terrifying Galra tech arm and nearly crushed her! She told me that she cut off his arm, but from everything I’ve heard, I’m sure he could build a bigger and better one.”

He’s not wrong…

“So,” Nova crossed his arms over his chest, “What should we do?”

“Today, you five will be against the training bot. With this lesson, you will have to fight together in order to take it down. Just like fighting a Galra fleet, splitting up will be your demise. Try to combine your forces and defeat the bot,” she said and left with Coran to watch us.

We each pulled out our bayards and activated the weapon. Mine was a combination of each, but I prefer the sword. Then the training bot fell from the ceiling with a sword in hand. It was big and looked rather intimidating. I tried to stand strong, but on the inside I felt like I was about to explode. Everything was so tense, it was as if I was looking death in the eyes.

The bot lunged at Callie but she dodged away and let Nate push the bot back. Asher kicked the bot in the gut while I mustered up every ounce of courage I could and bolted at the robot. Yet, before I could get to it, Nova interrupted my path to attack, but at this point Nate was distracting the bot. I stopped in my tracks and crashed into Nova while Nate got zapped by the robot’s sword. He yelped and fell to the ground. At this point, Nova had already made contact with the robot, but his attempt was failed since he ended up on the ground slumped over Nate.

“Get off of me!” Nate yelled. “You're crushing my lungs!” Nova didn't respond. He was knocked out. Lovely.

“Guys, seriously I thought we were sticking to a plan-” Callie was about to say but the robot nabbed her in the gut. Asher had just played dead since he knew that we weren’t going to win without the others.

Great, so it’s me against a robot.

Father had trained with me even before I knew I would be piloting the lion. He helped me get rid of my excess anger and stress after I was forced out of my home and separated from my siblings. My birth parents weren’t the _best_ people, but that’s in the past. It doesn’t weigh me down anymore, now that I’ve found Shiro and Matt.

Anyway, back to the robot, just as it was about to strike, it shorted out and fell to the floor. Everyone groaned while I ran over to help them to their feet.

“That robot was set to fight an Altean child!” I heard Allura yell.

“Princess,” Coran said, following close behind, “Give them some time. It wasn’t like we haven't faced these issues before.”

Allura turned towards the advisor, “We don't _have_ time, Coran! Sendak is out there and calls for help are coming from all over the Galaxy!”

The princess sighed heavily and rubbed her temples, no doubt feeling stressed. Coran seemed to notice this and started to lead Allura towards the exit. He looked over his shoulder before saying. “Rest up for a bit and then we’ll move on to the next exercise. Have about 10 of your earth minutes.”

Soon, it was just the five of us. We all groaned, rubbing certain injuries that we had just sustained from the simulator.

“Well, that sucked.” Callie said with a slight pout.

Nate, Asher and Nova nodded, all grunting in agreement.

Nova then started to walk towards the door and soon asked. “Hey, is there a bathroom around here in this ship?”

“Just turn right and keep going straight. It'll be at the end of the hall.” Asher instructed. Nova thanked him before announcing he would be right back.

Once the door closed behind him, I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed. “We need to think of a better plan. We can't just go in bayards blazing and just hope for the best.”

Asher nodded. “Yeah, that's true. Everyone just kind of did their own thing without communicating.”

“But can you understand why?” Callie interjected. “We just want to make Allura and Coran happy; one, because it means that she’s confident in us fighting against the Galra, and two, she isn't yelling and scaring the shit out of us.

Nate chimed in. “Allura is _scary_ when she’s angry. No way I want to deal with that.”

I sighed. I couldn't help but feel this is my fault. I never really gave my team a plan on how to approach the robot, and now Allura was panicking; she doesn't believe that we’re capable of defending the universe.

Asher noticed me stewing over our progress and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Hey,” he said, softly. “Quit beating yourself up. It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah,” Nate added. “If anything, it’s Nova's.”

“Nate,” Callie warned.

“No, I'm serious, Callie!”

Asher made his way over to Nate, placing his arm over his shoulder. “C’mon babe, he’s trying.” He said softly, “I mean, think about it, he's on a team with complete strangers. He needs to get to know us.”

“Asher’s right.” I said. “He doesn't know any of us, except for Asher, on a personal or a respectable level yet.” I heard a slight growl escape from Nate’s throat and Asher rubbed his arm soothingly, quickly calming Nate down.

“It’s going to take some time to get used to his combat style and see how we can incorporate it with ours.”

Nate rolled his eyes. “He doesn't take any of this seriously! How do we know he’s not trying to sabotage us?!”

“Nate, that's enough!” I said firmly. “We don’t need that kind of talk. Especially now.”

“But--”

“-Sometimes,” Callie interrupted, “the people who seem to always smile and joke around are the ones who are hurting the most.”

It was silent for a moment, until Nate broke it.

“Oh, come on.” He groaned. “Have you actually seen him smile or joke around? Other than him making fun of me?”

While Nate continued to complain, I glanced towards the door and saw a shadow peeking from behind it before it vanished, the sound of sprinting following soon after. Great. Nova heard us. He probably heard everything. I sighed heavily and turned back towards my team.

“Callie and Nate, keep practicing hand to hand combat. Asher, make sure Callie doesn't kill Nate. I'm going to find Nova so we can get back to training.”

“Hey!” Nate shouted. “I could just as easily take out Callie!” He crossed his arms over his chest, slightly pouting. “It’s because I'm _small_ , isn’t it?”

I huffed a little. I love Nate, I really do, but he’s so insecure about certain things that make him, well, him. Like his height for example. When Callie found Nova asked Nate to stay with Coran to lock down the castle, he immediately thought that it was because he thought we didn't think he was capable of fighting. Not because he’s the only one who knows how to use the castle’s security systems, or that he’s smarter than _anyone else_ on the ship.

“No.” I said as I walked to the door. “It’s because Callie needs to not hesitate with her blows and punches and you need to work on your defense. Now do it. I’ll be back soon.”

I could feel Nate rolling his eyes. “You can’t tell me what to do! I--”

Suddenly I heard Nate crash to the floor and looked to see him on his butt, rubbing the back of his head. Callie was looming over him with a mischievous glint in her eye.

“So,” Callie said, a smirk plastered across her face. “You can _easily_ take me down?”

I glanced at Callie, mouthing ‘Thank you,’ and she responded with a nod, so I left the training deck. It wasn't long before Nate and Callie's yelling, along with the sounds of grunts and punches, getting quieter as I walked further down the hall. I turned right, only to find the person I was looking for. He leaning against the wall and was gazing out the window, his shoulders were hunched over and his eyes were clouded over with a dull pain. It wasn’t a physical pain, more like an internal type thing. I’ve seen Nate have the same expression.

I walked closer to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. “Hey, you okay?”

He jumped at my touch and turned. His eyes showed fear for about half a tick before his expression turned back into a stoic one.

“Yeah,” he said, tersely. “I’m fine.”

“How much did you hear?” I asked.

He shook my hand off his shoulder. “It doesn't matter.” He pushed off the wall and said, “Let’s just get back to practice.”

I could tell something was wrong. I haven’t known Nova for very long, but he usually is more bubbly and snarky. He used to hold a cocky smirk on his lips and now he almost seemed like a gargoyle.

“Don’t listen to Nate,” I blurted, “He’s had a bit of a rough patch lately and he doesn’t mean what he says.”

“Whatever,” Nova shrugged.

Now I know how parents feel when their teenagers shut them out…

“Don’t ‘whatever’ me!” I snapped.

I grabbed his arm. Nova jolted away and slammed himself into the wall across from us. His eye widened as if he had seen a ghost and wrapped his arms around himself.

I didn’t mean to hurt him. Looks like I’m not like my Father. He was a great leader. His team followed his every word and respected him. All that I’ve accomplished is hurting Nova more than he was before and getting sassed by my little cousin.

I rubbed my temples, “I’m sorry Nova, I didn’t mean to hurt you in anyway.” Nova slowly slunk away from the wall to compose himself. “Look, you’re new here and you haven’t made any effort to get to know us, except for Asher. Try hanging out with someone, like Callie! She’s nice!” I slumped against the wall admitting defeat. I’m sorry Father, I’ve failed as a leader...

After a moment, Nova set his hands on my shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze. I looked up to see his normal cocky smirk.

“I’ll think about it,” he said, “I’m not really used to meeting others. The only reason I was quick to know Asher was because I wanted to make sure I could trust you guys and you wouldn’t send me back to the Galra. Besides, Asher is familiar. His aura is similar to someone I once knew…”

I held one of his hands, “Well, do you trust us?”

“I-I’m not sure yet,” he turned away from me and let go of my shoulders.

I reached up and cupped his cheek, “I know it’s going to take some time, but I promise that you can trust us. Even if Nate is acting like a jerk. Believe me, he’s a sweetheart underneath that teenage angst.”

Nova chuckled, “Let’s go back to training.”

I walked with Nova back to the training room. I never noticed how tall he was, I mean he isn’t extremely tall, but he’s only an inch shorter than Asher, (and he’s the tallest on the team). I’m excited to get to know Nova, he seems like a lost spirit just floating around trying to find his place in the world. I hope he can think of this team as his family, just like the old paladins. They were so close that nothing could tear them apart… Well, until one of them had a child in secret, but that’s how we got Nate so I’m not complaining.

Yet, when we get back to the training room, all we hear is Nate screaming, “GET OFF OF ME!”

When I jumped in, Nate was pinned under Callie. She continued to slam him against the cold training room ground. Her eyes were fueled with rage while Nate was ready to piss himself.

“NEVER YOU LITTLE MONSTER!” Callie screamed back.

Asher tried to step in, “Guys stop-”

But the two of them bit his head off, “STAY OUT OF THIS!”

Alright, time to put my leader mask on and try to break this up. I used to do that all the time when Nate and Callie were little kids. She used to wrestle with him but he never wanted any conflict so he let her pin him down. Now that they are older, their wrestling gets more intense and Nate usually says something to start it.

I walked over to the scene, “Alright Callie, you can get off of Nate. I think you’ve made it clear who wins.”

“NO!” Callie snapped, “The little bastard was throwing some shade-!”

“I was not!” Nate spat, “And you’re so much heavier than you look, so get off! I can’t breathe!”

Callie snarled, “Cállate maldito, te voy a matar si siguen con esta mierda!” Nate cringed away from her.

Callie picked up some spanish because Uncle Lance wanted his kids to speak fluent spanish and she would always overhear Uncle Lance yelling at Uncle Keith in spanish.

I looked over at Nova. His cheeks were tinted red and his lips were slightly parted. His eyes were glued to the scene as he traced Callie’s form. I looked to Asher, and he was sweating bullets. He wanted to help his boyfriend but he was terrified of  Callie hurting him.

See, I could tell that both of those boys’ blood flowed thick with passion for the people wrestling. Asher loved Nate, but Nova liked Callie? Interesting.

“Fuck off! Callie seriously! All I said was you haven’t been kissed yet and-” Nate squeaked.

Asher hissed, “Love, you should stop talking now!” He used the sleeve of his black jacket to wipe away a bead of sweat that trickled down his temple.

“ENOUGH!” I held my hands up. I could hear my voice bounce off the walls as everyone turned to me. “I walk away for two minutes and I come back to Callie swearing, Nate suffocating, and Asher panicking! How are we going to form Voltron if we can’t get along?”

Of course I lost them at the end when Nate cried, “Help!!”

Callie smirked, “Maybe I should just call your Mom-”

“NO ANYTHING BUT THAT!”

Nova leaned over to me, “What’s wrong with Nate’s Mom?”

I giggled at his question, “She was the old green paladin. She and Nate are very close, so close that if he screws up she will pull out those embarrassing moments you don’t want anyone to remember and also she’ll fly over here just to kick Nate’s ass.”

“Wow,” Nova snorted, “When can I meet her to get some pointers?”

“Probably during Christmas,” Asher joined in as he scurried over to us, “That’s when the adults are coming to see how things are going. I mean, except for my parents that want nothing to do with me.” I rested a hand on his shoulder.

Nova’s eyes went from bright to dull again, “G-great…”

I really hope we can help him in time… And I know he’ll trust us soon, just give him time.

 

**NOVA:**

“Let’s just get back to training.” I said stoically. I summoned my bayard and didn't bother to wait for everyone to get into position before calling out. “Simulation begin! Level one!”

“Nova, wait!” Asher shouted. “We aren't--”

Before Asher could finish speaking, the bot was active and charging forward. I closed my eyes for a brief second before doing the same. The bot and I went at it for a few minutes until I saw Callie summoning her bayard from the corner of my eye. I smiled slightly before pushing the simulated robot towards Callie. I could tell from the fire in her eyes that she knew I was provoking her. She lunged at the bot and knocked me out of the way. I see, that’s how she wants to play.

I leaped to my feet and nudged myself against her side. She jolted as I smirked, “Having fun there Sweetheart?” Then the bot struck her down.

I looked over to see Nate holding out his phone mumbling to Asher, “I’m going to send this to Mom, then she’ll send it to Uncle Keith.”

Callie and I eventually forgot about the bot and started attacking each other. She leaped at me and swung her fist while I dodged her. She was yelling and grunting from earlier training. I must admit, this little brunette is more feisty than I had originally thought. Time to push her buttons a bit.

Callie tried to punch me, but I grabbed her hand. She was stunned for a second as I brought her hand up to my lips and whispered, “So it’s true, you’re skin is as soft as it looks.” Her cheeks tinted red. “Aw, did I make the Princess blush?”

“What did you just-” she yanked her hand away.

“Come on Sweetheart, let’s go get stuck on the other side of a wormhole-”

“I’ll stick YOU in a wormhole!” she yelled as she marched over to her cousin, “Have fun with that bot behind you!”

I turned around and the bot was right in my face. thought I could handle it, but when I looking into the beady yellow eye, all I remembered was…

_I grabbed the handle of the sword that was his blood stained the rusty steel as I trembled to regain my stance._

I jumped away from the bot letting it come to me. It was fast, but I know I’m faster. Or so I believed since-

_-When the soldier pointed his gun in my face, I was ready to accept the searing pain of a bullet in my head. Not like I could feel anymore pain. Then I remembered his words, to keep fighting. I promise you, I will. I’ll never stop!_

“NO!” I screamed as I sliced my sword through the bot.

_The soldier’s blood stained my rags as I slowly dragged the weapon out of his body. My body trembled as I realized this was the second person I’ve killed with this cursed sword. The warning alarms blared and I knew I only had a matter of time before more soldiers filed in. The one soldier that I stabbed fell to the floor, but he was still wheezing. I could hear him crying in pain and I didn’t know what to do. Stab him? So-_

-The next thing I knew, I was on the ground and continuously stabbing a dead training bot. My sword hacked at the parts as I could barely hold my bayard. Hot fat tears rolled down my cheeks as I could feel the robot oil slapping my cheeks.

“Nova, stop it!” Selina yelped as I jumped back into reality.

I’m safe… I’m in this castle ship, not in a prison, not being…

I used the sleeve of my paladin armour to wipe away the tears. My eyes were still red and puffy. I looked at the boy with dark thick hair and fear in his bright brown eyes. He doesn’t like me because the possessive little kid can’t handle someone getting close to his best friend. Why can’t he just trust me? Well, I’ll show him that I’m not a threat to be taken lightly.

I marched up to him and growled, “How’s that for not taking it seriously?” then I stormed out of the training room.

-

I know that sulking in my room is the easy way out, but it was the only thing I could think of. Honestly, I’d rather rip my face off then show it in front of Nate or the others again. I’ve probably lost them after that outburst. How can I trust them if they can’t trust me anymore? Maybe I should lock myself in here and rot away.

I curled my knees close to my chest as I shifted my weight on the bed. I heard a knock on my door but I ignored it. The person didn’t understand that I wanted to be alone and he came in anyway.

The blond boy sighed as he walked over to me.

“Nova,” he said, “Are you okay?”

He sat at the edge of my bed, but I refused to speak. Why can’t he take a fucking hint?

“You can talk to me, it’s okay.” I don’t think you’re boyfriend would like it, “If this is about Nate, I’m sorry about him. I swear he’s not like that-”

“-Can you just leave me alone?” I cut in. Asher’s jaw was dropped and his eyes widened. I noticed I must’ve hurt him. “Asher, I didn’t mean it. Look, I kind of want to be alone right now.”

Asher sighed, “I understand, but when you want to talk, you’ll know where to find me.” He reached over and squeezed my shoulder. Then he got up and he left me to my thoughts, a dangerous pastime.

My hands trailed down my arms and I gripped the baggy sweater I changed into (Asher gave it to me since he had a spare one, but like I would actually wear it outside my dorm. Nate would kill me). My eyes switched their gaze from my comforter to the mirror on the wall.

_Look at you. How can they trust someone like you?_

I swiveled around so my feet touched the floor and stood up, slowly making my way towards the mirror. I looked at my reflection, eyeing myself from top to bottom.

_You’re disgusting._

I took my sweater off and dropped it beside me, my pants following slowly after. I examined all the icy scars littering my body from the experiments performed on me by that fucking Druid.

_A damaged freak._

My hands slowly touched every cluster of scars and burns that covered my chest, my arms, my legs. I gazed at the mirror, gently moving my long hair away from my face. I was greeted by the thing that haunts me everyday.

_An enemy._

Tears welled in my eyes as I sunk to my knees. I knew that if the others (excluding Asher) saw this, they would never see me the same again. I’m a broken disaster. Maybe I should just leave this team…

My heart clenched in my chest as I felt a severe burning in my galra tech eye. The pain always flares up when I’m upset like this. This is the point where I have little to no control of myself anymore. Someone, anyone, help me!

As if someone heard, there was a knock on my door. I leaped to my feet and scrambled my clothes back on except for Asher’s sweater, which I hid under my pillow. I would put it back on, but I can’t risk Nate seeing it and having another reason to hate me.

I opened the door to see the beautiful brunette girl with her arms crossed over her chest (which pushed up her breasts so they peeked over the v-neck collar of her simple white shirt with blue sleeves, but those are minor details to this complicated person). I threw on a smirk and she groaned.

“Sweetheart,” I purred, “To what do I owe the honor?”

“Can it Pretty Boy.”

“Oh, Pretty Boy, I like that name-”

“-Shut up!” she growled, “Anyway, the old pilot of the Red lion wants to talk to you. He’s in the control room on this Skype sort of program that Nate made.”

Before I could ask what Skype was, Callie grabbed my arm and dragged me all the way to the control room. She was so strong and I love how the slight curls of her hair tangled over her shoulders then flurried down her back. I-I mean she’s alright! Nothing special!

When I got to the room, everyone was waiting for me so I thought this was some sort of intervention, which I was not ready for. Then I looked up at the giant screen to see a man with his dark hair tied back in a ponytail. I could barely make out the figure of a bigger man with a scruffy face and a lanky boy in the background.

“Uh,” I didn’t know what to say, “W-who are you-?”

“You young man! I know your type! You come in and you think you’re so cool and you win the hearts of everyone but you will NOT get my daughter!” he yelled.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about and who even are you?” I spluttered.

He groaned, “I’m Keith Kogane-McClain, Callie’s Dad.” oh that explains everything, “And I saw the video of you and my daughter. Thanks again Nate.” that little bastard…

“Look Sir, there is nothing going on, I just met this team and I’m trying to get used to everything,” I turned to Callie, “So don’t worry Sweetheart.”

“What did you just-” Keith was cut off by the other man in the camera shot.

He said, “I’m sorry about Keith, he’s just being a bit overprotective. My name’s Lance, I’m his husband and Callie’s Papa. The boy behind me is Callie’s older brother Salem. Look, we just wanted to check up on you kids and welcome you to the team… um... “

“Nova,” I said, “No last name, never had one.”

Lance smiled, “Well, welcome to the team Nova. And again, I’m so sorry about Keith. He--”

“Is just looking out for his daughter.” I finished. “It's okay.”

“Damn right I’m looking out for my daughter!” Keith butted in. “I don't need her dealing with hijinks from a thief like you!”

“Dad, that’s enough!” Callie barked. “He isn't a thief! He’s my teammate!”

A thief. That’s all I am to this man. Well, that's another degrading word for my toxic thoughts. Lovely.

“Also, since you are flying Red, I don't want to hear about anything regarding dents or scratches, you got that?”

“But Dad,” Callie interrupted. “Red already has scratches and dents…”

“Irrelevant!”

So this is what it's like to be lectured by a parent. I haven't gotten a talk like this since I was with… _him._

“She's precious to me.” Keith continued. “She is like my third child!”

“Yeah, yeah. I got it.” I said, letting a little attitude slip through. Keith didn't like that.

“I mean it!”

Okay, I don't care if Keith is Callie’s father or not, he's really starting to irritate me. However, I don't show my annoyed attitude.

“Don’t worry sir.” I said, slightly kissing up. “I promise I’ll take care of Red.”

“She isn't to be taken lightly,” Keith said firmly. “You have to _earn_ her respect. You can’t just expect it to be there.”

Ooh, this is going to be interesting. “I understand.”  A small smirk made its way to my lips. “But to be honest sir, the first time I met Red, she started purring and nudging my face.”

I could see shock in Keith’s eyes. He almost looked offended. “Excuse me?”

“Nova…” Callie warned.

I felt the smirk on my face grow. At this point I don't care what Callie thinks about me _intimidating_ her dad. He's gonna get to see me with full-on attitude.

“Yep, she was purring like a kitten.” I saw Keith clenching his jaw in anger as Lance continued to witness what was unfolding, slightly concerned. Salem just looked amused.

“It seemed that as soon as I met her, she and I connected.” I continued, feeling a little accomplished for getting under Keith’s skin. “We share a _special_ bond.”

That was it. Keith snapped. “ALRIGHT YOU LITTLE QUIZNAK--”

“Keith!” Lance shouted. He slapped Keith upside the head as Salem started to laugh loudly in the background.

I simply smiled at the entertaining little scene I created, hearing Callie quietly trying to stifle her giggling. The fact that I could get her to laugh, for some reason made me feel good. Maybe I can try to make her laugh without sassing and humiliating one of her fathers. We’ll see.

“Okay,” Allura said, stepping in. “Now that you have gotten acquainted, I think it's time we get back to training. Say goodbye, guys.”

“NO! I’M NOT FINISHED!” Keith yelled.

Lance rolled his eyes and pulled Keith close to him. “Yes, you are.”

“But--”

“Callie,” Lance said with a warm smile. “Daddy and I love you. Be good and stay safe!”

“Love ya little sis!” Salem said in the background. “Make your big brother proud!”

For some reason, that phrase hurts. Well, not just for any reason, it’s because I’ve never really had a parent tell me that they love me. I was a reject from the start.

“It was great meeting you but I’m tired, I-I think I’ll be heading back to my dorm,” I faked a smile and retreated back my dorm. I felt stiff as a board as I collapsed on my bed for the second time today.

Maybe I’ll just sleep instead of be tormented by the endless of my mind. Tomorrow brings another day.

Something's coming…  Something _big_ , I can feel it. We might have a matter of weeks, or days, maybe even hours, but I can tell that the air has shifted in the most malicious way. Am I ready, you may ask.  Well, are _you_?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryker: Hey everyone! Sorry for the LONG delay. We've been so busy lately and it's just been so long. This chapter is long and I just hope y'all enjoy the work. 
> 
> This chapter has some nsfw content. Just warning you!

**NATE:**

Did I feel guilty about Uncle Keith exploding at Nova? Of course I did! So when everyone was glaring at me, I honestly hoped that Sendak would find me and just throw me away into some prison far away from everyone (though the chances of that happening are one in never).

Okay, for those who are just tuning in, Nova is some rebel that tried to steal the crystal that powers this entire castle ship. My boyfriend, Asher, was the one that Nova trusted and would only speak to, which meant Asher noticed me less and hung around Nova more. I’m not normally a jealous person (my mom would be laughing at that statement) but being together in these close quarters really allows me to examine the situation. I know it’s ridiculous to feel threatened by the mysterious new guy, but something just feels off. It’s like Nova isn’t being completely honest, and I know Asher is a sucker for a sob story.

Now, where was I? Oh, right, the team making me feel so small that I could be crushed like a bug. Seriously, I took _one_ video of Nova and Callie sparring to send to my mom. I knew she might forward it to Uncle Keith but how should I know she would actually do it?

My boyfriend was the only one that had his eyes glued to the door, “He looked upset. Maybe one of us should go talk to him.” That’s just Asher. He can’t ignore someone in need. Sometimes, I wish I was more like him, but then again the world doesn’t need two Ashers (though I might enjoy it).

“What? Why?” I shook my head, “We should give him space so he can cool off.”

“I don’t know, Dad’s never like that when it comes to meeting people. He’s usually really quiet and shy,” Callie sighed as she twirled a lock of her long hair.

She’s right, Uncle Keith is mainly reserved. Mom said that she met Uncle Keith through rescuing Uncle Shiro (long story) and he was living alone in the middle of a desert on the outskirts of the Garrison. I’ve always admired him because he learned how to control himself through Voltron and he found his new family. I hoped to find that from this team, but I think I just fucked it up.

“It must’ve been because of the video Nate took,” Asher probably didn’t know what he just caused.

“Speaking of which-” Callie marched up to me and smacked me upside the head. You could hear the slap all the way on Earth.

I growled in pain as I grabbed my throbbing head. Did I deserve it? Probably, though I don’t know exactly what I did. I feel like I deserve anything that comes my way.

“Why did you record Nova and me sparring and then send it to my Dad?!” she yelled. Her shoulders hunched over as her fists were balled as her sides. Her cheeks were bright red and I could nearly see the steam fuming from her ears.

“I didn’t send it to Uncle Keith!” I retorted.

Asher nodded, “He sent it to Katie. She must’ve sent it to Keith.”

“Not helping!” as much as I love the tall blond, he needs to keep his mouth shut!

Selina sensed the tension building up in the room and held up her hands in defense. She backed up slightly until she was near the door.

“Look,” she said, “What’s done is done. Nate sent the video, Uncle Keith saw it. There’s nothing we can do about it now so we might as well just forget about it.”

Just as she was about to leave, Callie said, “Selina,” and Selina couldn’t leave. Selina let out a shaky breath and threw on a obviously faked smile. Callie continued, “My dad thinks Nova is a thief. He doesn’t trust Nova!”

“You can explain to Uncle Keith that Nova is a good person. Right now, we need to focus on forming Voltron.” Selina said. She’s right though, maybe things are looking up for me after all!

Selina quickly made her way out the door and slammed it behind her. Then there were three...

When it comes to Callie, _never_ assume you are in the clear! She’s like a firework, beautiful and explosive.

Callie turned on her heel, making her way towards me. Her acidic green eyes burned with rage. (Is it too late to decline being a Paladin?) I stumbled backwards and cringed away as she towered over me.

“I can't believe you went out of your way to deliberately get Nova in trouble!” She snapped, “He already has enough on his plate as it is, and _now_ he has to deal with my over protective father because of _your_ stupid video!”

My lips parted slightly as if to say something, but honestly I’m speechless. Why did she think I was trying to get Nova in trouble on purpose? I didn't plan on it! How was I supposed to know Mom was going to send the video? I wanted to keep her updated on what happens in our lives. Mom and I are best friends, I wanted her to enjoy the moment with me.

“I didn’t think any of this would happen!” I tried to justify my actions.

I glanced over to Asher, expecting him to say something to support me. Yet, he was chewing on his bottom lip as he anxiously shifted his weight back and forth (Thanks a lot, Ash...).

Callie pinches the bridge of her nose and huffed out an aggravated sigh. “Whatever, there's nothing we can do about it now.”

I could feel the pressure in the air build up with each heavy breath as the room was on the edge of it’s seat, anxiously waiting to see what will happen. Callie looked back up and slowly walked towards the door. “Someone just go talk to Nova and see if he’s okay.” She said, “I need to go lay down and think of a way to convince my father that Nova is a part of the team. Not the enemy.” She lost the anger in her voice, all that was left was exhaustion and disappointment.

“B-but I didn’t,” it took everything inside of me not to cry, “I just sent the video to Mom! Am I not allowed to speak with her _just_ to protect Nova? News flash! He was going to meet Uncle Keith eventually!”

She sighed, “Yes, but I didn’t want my family to meet Nova like this. It’s not fair to either of them.” She was so calm about this, it’s beginning to freak me out, “Dad thinks that Nova is something he isn’t and Nova didn’t get a chance to properly introduce himself. He was immediately judged.”

I’m not a stupid person, I have an extremely high IQ for a person my age and Mom says I have hers and Dad’s brain combined into one head. I knew I could back Callie into a corner very quickly.

“Aren’t you immediately judging me by assuming that I did this maliciously?” I smirked.

Callie open and closed her mouth like a hungry fish. She took a deep breath as she regained her composure. “Fine,” she said, “I might be a hypocrite right now, but what am I supposed to believe Nate?” she crossed her arms over her chest, “You and Nova have a huge rivalry going on.”

I snorted out a growl, “You have a rivalry with him too!”

“But it’s not filled with hate. There’s also respect.”

“How would you know?! You’ve only known him for five days!”

Callie shook her head and began to walk away, “We need to have respect for our teammates Nate, even if they are strangers. How else are we going to defend the universe without it?”

I refused to let her have the last word, “Oh shut up! Run to your boyfriend and check if he’s okay! I refuse to be backed into a corner by the likes of _you_.”

She sighed, “You are so immature sometimes.” and with that, she closed the door behind her.

I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but you have to understand my point of view here. I hated feeling like this was my fault. The guilt had already settled in my stomach, I didn’t need Callie to attack me while my boyfriend stood there like a bystander.

“Asher, can you believe her?!” I scoffed and looked at Asher.

The blond boy stood there nervously. His lips were pressed together tight and I knew then that Asher wasn’t going to agree with me. A piece of my heart flaked off and floated to the ground. Pressure built up behind my eyes as my cheeks began to burn.

“Asher?” I squeaked.

“W-well…” he trailed off.

An unexplainable pain built up in my chest as my heart was smothered by betrayal.

“Do you really think I took that video with malicious intent?!” I staggered my stance. My shoulders hiked up to my ears with each heaving breath.

Asher shook his head, “N-no! Well, not exactly. I mean I think that-”

A burning white light flashed before my eyes as if to tell me that my filter had crumbled to the ground. “Of course you would take _his_ side! What was I thinking? _My_ boyfriend would NEVER try to take _my_ side!” my voice trembled with a hurt laughter.

“Hey, I’m not taking anyone’s side! You know I hate it when you say stuff like that!” I was hurting Asher. Let me just add that to the list of why I’m such a fuck up.

I stormed up to Asher and looked up at him angrily. I was so close I could feel the heat radiate off of him. Usually, I adored this, but right now I wanted him to feel how much I was burning with rage (bad joke, I know).

“Then why don’t you believe me?” I snapped, “Why did you hesitate before?” My words were shaky as I felt myself losing every bit of control.

“I was going to say that I think Callie is somewhat right. Although you didn’t mean to record the video in an attempt to hurt Nova or Callie, you recorded it and sent it to your mom without their knowledge,” Asher reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear, “Now, you didn’t know she would send it to Keith, but based on that little smirk you gave when Keith mentioned you, it makes you look like you knew it was going to happen.” His fingers trailed from my hair to my cheek as a calming gesture.

I was at a loss for words. He makes a good point but I didn’t want to give in. I wanted someone to see my hurt and not just Nova’s. (that’s a funny thought, ever since Nova came here it was all about him. I feel like I’m lost in his shadow, but don’t tell anyone).

“J-just-! Well I-!” the pressure behind my eyes burst causing tears to trickle down my cheeks. I shoved Asher away and screamed, “Go away!”

Asher was taken back by my harsh actions. He tried to walk closer to me but every step he took seemed too careful, as if he was walking on shards of jagged glass.

“I’m not mad at you Nate. I’m just trying to explain why Callie and Nova would be upset. Look, if you just talk to them and apologize-”

“I said go away!” I tried to scream but my voice broke as I hid myself away in the sleeves of my cotton plaid shirt (it wasn’t mine, it was actually Asher’s. He gave it to me.)

He knew which battles to fight, and this wasn’t one of them. Asher nodded and retreated shutting the door behind him.

My brain screamed at me, _‘Look what you did, unnecessary drama just like always. Nobody wants you Nathan. Your Mother didn’t, your Father didn’t, not even your boyfriend wants you.’_

I shook my head and mumbled, “That’s not true. I-it’s not true.” I took a deep cleansing breath to calm myself before I started listening to my head. My fingers tangled in my hair and yanked on the locks. Unsafe thoughts fluttered around in my head telling me that I deserve to be hurt and punished, I caused all this trouble and I need to atone for it.

I need Mom… I need to talk to her and hear her voice. I need her to calm me like she did when I was a kid. Mom knew how to make me smile even in my worst moments.

I ran to the control panel and quickly clicked on Mom’s contact to call her. The ringing noise was like horror movie music at the moment, until Mom picked up.

It was nice to see her face again. It looked like she just washed her hair and was braiding it. She had a bright smile on.

“Nate! Honey, I wasn’t expecting a call from you until-” she looked at my puffy eyes and my heaving chest and her smile faded, “Honey, what happened? Who do I need to kill?” She was in the kitchen and grabbed the nearest kitchen knife.

I must admit, her last statement made me chuckle, “Mom, put the knife down it’s okay. I just… I fucked up.”

“Nate,”

“I fucked up really bad and I don’t know what to do.” I began to hyperventilate.

“Sweetie, just breathe-”

“Nova and Callie are mad, Selina is disappointed, Asher is upset with me!”

“Nathan-”

“Everyone hates me!” I sobbed.

“OKAY hold up Bud!” Mom said, “Tell me _everything_ that happened.”

I took a deep breath and ran my fingers shakily through my hair, “Uncle Keith called. H-he wanted to meet the new red Paladin, Nova. And he immediately started yelling at him.”

“Aw Honey-”

“Why would you send Uncle Keith that video? I didn’t think you were actually going to do it!” it was wrong of me to blame Mom. I was the one that sent the video, so it’s really my fault. I just didn’t want to admit defeat.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Mom said, “But take a moment and calm down right now. You do _not_ use that tone of voice with me, you know that.”

I shook my head, “How can I calm down down when I might have jeopardized our chances to bond as a team and form Voltron?!” I began to pace back and forth, “I might have just royally fucked the universe!”

Mom chuckled, “We didn’t form Voltron on our first try! It took a long time before we formed Voltron. Keith and Lance were arguing, your father and I got into a few arguments too, and Shiro was trying to keep the peace.” I started to pace back and forth as I tugged on my hair. Mom said, “It takes a while, but I know this won’t do anything. Just apologize even if you don’t mean it. But try to mean it, because honestly, we might’ve hurt Nova’s feelings.”

I know I hurt his feelings and everyone should hate me for it. I slammed my hands down on the control panel and I swear i felt the room tremble.

“It’s so difficult with him though!” I growled, “He always switches back and forth between being a smug asshole or an over emotional asshole! It’s like night and day!” I shook my head violently. I just wanted to erase the events from the past 16 years and maybe my birth? Is that a possibility?

"Sounds like Keith,” Mom mumbled.

“And he doesn’t trust anyone!” I threw my arms up in the air dramatically, “He only trusts Asher! He’s spending so much time with him, I feel like I’m going to wring his neck!” I squeezed my hands making a strangling motion. Mom whistled to get my attention.

“Okay no killing people,” She said, “If I can’t kill people, you can’t either. And don’t think too much into this. Why are you so worried? Asher won’t leave you.”

Is she right? Maybe I’m overreacting, “Well… I-it’s stupid I suppose…”

“Honey, Asher loves you. The amount of love I’ve seen in that boy’s eyes when he looks at you is almost overwhelming. It’s definitely there. Have a little faith in him.”

Mom and I are like best friends, she knows everything about me because I tell her everything. I know it’s weird, but before Asher and I got intimate, I told Mom and she helped me prepare for this, like getting condoms and lube. She was supportive as long as I was safe and happy. Honestly, I’m so lucky to have her as a mother.

“But,” I sighed, “he’s been with me for a long time, what if he wants something new?”

Mom gave me the _look_. This is the look she had when she was planning my surprise birthday parties and when she enrolled me the Garrison months in advance. It was a look like she knows something but can’t tell me. It didn’t help that she said, “He won’t, trust me.” Her lips curled into a tight smirk.

“Why do you have the _look_ on your face?” I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest.

“What look?” Mom scoffed suspiciously, “I don’t have a look! This is just how my face always looks!”

“That’s a lie and you know it,” I chuckled, “I’ve seen your face for the past 16 years, Mom, I know by now.”

Mom opened her mouth as if to say something, but there was a click of a door and loud footsteps.

“Katie! We’re home!” it was Dad’s voice! Just hearing him makes me feel homesick. I wonder where Dad was and what he did. I wish I could’ve been there. I thought I was feeling better but now I was thrown back to the pit of loneliness.

“We got free food!” my little brother squeaked.

Mom looked to the side and smiled. She motioned for them to come over here.

“I-is that Dad and Leo?” I asked. I wanted to see them and hear them.

“Yes, it’s them!” Mom smiled, “Would you like to-” a loud crash made Mom jump. She leaned out of her seat.

“Aw shit!” Leo exclaimed (I taught him the curse words, I’m so proud).

“Leo!” Dad yelled.

“Damn, I have to go investigate what your brother has broken now. Dad and Leo will call you later tonight, okay?” Mom said.

“Okay Mom,” I faked a smile as she was getting out of her chair, “And Mom?” Mom looked at me, “Thanks.”

“Anytime Bud. I love you,” she brought up her hands and made a heart with them. Then she turned off camera and yelled to my Dad and brother, “What did you two do this time?!” A click and the call ended.

When Mom was gone, the guilt returned. I wanted to slam myself against the wall until the horrible feeling seeped out of me, but that won’t help. I should go apologize because I hurt everyone. I’m a fuck up, I know that much, but can I actually fix what I’ve broken?

-

First on my list is to apologize to Callie. We’ve had our fights, but she’s never been that upset with me. She’s my cousin and it would be a disaster if she hated me for the rest of our lives, so I might as well. Yet, she wasn’t in her room when I went to check on her. I assumed she was consoling Nova, so I might as well kill two birds with one stone (that was so cliche I was to just gag) and pay a visit to Nova’s room.

I knocked on the door, but no one answered. They probably know it’s me and don’t want to see my horrible face (or they are making out, one of the two).

“Nova, i-it’s Nate,” I knocked again, “Is Callie there too? Look, I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt, I’m just good at making everyone I love upset. Honestly, I understand if you guys hate me, but hear me out.” There was still no response, “Guys?”

Nova’s door was unlocked, and me being the curious person I am, I opened the door and walked inside. I felt like an idiot because there was nobody in the room. I apologized to a door…

When I walked into his room, I realized that he had no possessions of his own. The rest of us filled our rooms with trinkets from home and little reminders of Earth, but Nova’s room was a starch white room. Looking at it made goosebumps prickle down my arms. I sat back on his bed but felt something lumpy under me. I was praying that it was just the sheets, but when I yanked out the clothe, it was a black jacket.

Okay, so a jacket is just cloth, I know it shouldn’t make me upset, but when I saw the clothing, it was almost as if I was shot in the heart by an ice arrow. I pressed the jacket to my face to confirm my suspicions and sadly, i was right. It smelled of freshly baked sugar cookies, which is what Asher usually smelled like since he bought the wrong fabric softener that smelled like cookies.

It was Asher’s jacket (a spare he brought along)… Why would Nova have Asher’s jacket?

I mean, Asher has been spending more time with Nova lately, and I’ve seen some bruises on Asher but- it can’t be.

I shook my head violently to get those vial thoughts out of my head. Asher would never cheat on me… Would he?

No, I felt the tears well up behind my eyes again and my heart raced faster than Leo after he cursed in front of Mom. Along with that, my racing heart ached, like someone kept poking at the healing wounds just to reopen them and make me bleed. I buried my face in the fibers of the jacket as I couldn’t hold back the water works and for the second time today, my body trembled out a string of gross sobs.

 _‘He’s cheating on you,’_ my brain cackled _, ‘He doesn’t want you. How could he?’_

“Exactly,” I agreed, “H-he’s just tired of me…”

Stop it! Pull yourself together Nathan! Just go ask Asher about this, I’m sure there is a logical explanation that you aren’t thinking of because you are so distraught.

I left Nova’s room and ran down the hall to Asher’s room. His door was cracked open and I was being a creep, so I spied on him. What I saw didn’t help…

Asher and Nova were on Asher’s bed. Nova’s back was turned to me so I couldn’t see, but Nova was in between Asher’s legs. Nova had his head on Asher’s collar bone (is he kissing Asher’s neck?!) and Asher was rubbing Nova’s back.

Yup, that broke it…

I backed away with Asher’s jacket tight in my fists. Honestly, I couldn’t even explain my heartbreak, it was devastation! My heart was stomped on and completely destroyed. It looked like Asher and Nova were getting intimate together.

I couldn’t blame Asher though, Nova is so cool and gorgeous, I understand if Asher wants him over the short and lanky fuck up boy (me).

Nova untangled himself from Asher which was my cue to leave (or sprint away back to the training room so I could be alone).

I slammed my back against the training room wall and slid myself down until I plopped on the floor. My body trembled violently as I imagined Asher kissing Nova the same way he would kiss me; or maybe them talking about how much they are interested in each other… or the worst! Asher touching every inch of Nova’s body while Asher says, ‘Nate who?’

I tangled my fingers tightly in my hair and yanked until I nearly ripped the strands off of my scalp. I pulled my knees close to my chest. A sob got caught in my throat as I cried, “M-make it stop! Make these thoughts stop!” I shook my head, “A-Asher, please h-help me!” I squeaked.

I felt a pair of arms wrap around me and I imagined it to be Asher. The person pried my hands out of my hair and placed them on their shoulders.

“Ash,” I whispered as I jumped on the person and hid away in the crook of their neck.

“It’s not Asher,” she said, “It’s Allura.”

Oh…

Allura sat next to me and wrapped an arm around me. Alteans were warm, like humans. If I didn’t know she as an alien, I would’ve assumed she was human.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“N-nothing…” I trailed off as I used the back of my hand to wipe away my tears.  

“That’s a lie,” she sighed, “You’re crying and snuggling a jacket. What happened?”

Since Mom is so far away, I suppose Allura will listen to me.

“I did something stupid, so I went to apologize and I found Asher’s jacket in Nova’s room,” I told her.

“And, that could easily be Asher lending a friend some clothing,” she rubbed my shoulder.

“I know, so I went to ask Asher about it an-and I found him with Nova in a suggestive position,” I squeaked out trying my best not to cry again, “I know it couldn’t be what I saw, but I just got so upset that I ran away.” I pushed away from her to face her, “Asher and I have been together for so long, what if he is tired of me?”

Allura sighed, “Oh Nate,” she cupped my cheek gently, “Throughout my years, I have seen many things, and one is when people are truly in love. When I look at you and Asher, I see that spark of true love. You two are soulmates.”

“Alright,” I sighed heavily. What else am I supposed to say?

Do you believe in soulmates? Me, not so much. I believe that people find each other and try it out, there are no such thing as soulmates. I don’t know how to explain it, I suppose I like a more scientific approach to love than the mushy romantic fantasies.

“Feel better?” she asked.

I needed to talk to Asher, that’s the only thing that would make me feel better. Clear the air.

I thanked Allura for her help and made my way back to Asher’s room. The door was still open (he wasn’t good at locking his door). So I just walked in and shut the door behind me. His room had little stuffed animals and pictures of us.

It reminded me of when we were back on Earth and we would snuggle in our shared room at the Garrison. We would have to sneak around since his parents were against our relationship and told my mom to keep me away from Asher. We secretly sent each other messages online until we realized that we can spend time with each other if we go to the Garrison, and since I skipped a grade I was able to go when I was 13.

I crawled on top of the neat sheets on Asher’s bed and curled myself around the pillow. I let the jacket fall to the ground as I tried to take a deep breath. It didn't work. The more I thought about Asher, the more anxious I became.

 _Allura is wrong._ The malicious voices told me. _Asher has found someone new. You've been replaced._

“N-no…”

_Why would he want someone like you? You're just a fucked up, insecure guy. He deserves better than you!_

My breathing was becoming short and labored, to the point where I sent myself into a coughing fit. I muffled my coughs with Asher’s pillow and tried to regulate my breathing a bit. As I started to catch my breath, I could smell Asher’s natural scent in his pillow. It was a faded smell, something I can only describe as being warm and comforting. Normally, this would calm me down immediately and bring me out of my toxic thinking, however, it just made things worse. Tears were now staining the pillow as I silently cried, an occasional whimper slipping passed my lips.

Asher holding Nova played through my head like a horror movie on repeat. I squirmed on his bed trying to make the thoughts stop. I yanked on my hair pulling out strands with each violent tug. I banged my knees into the wall since Asher’s bed was against the wall. I didn't even notice the door open and Asher walk in.

“Nate?”

I could hear him say my name, but I was too wrapped up in my anxiety to acknowledge him. My eyes focused only on the bed sheets as my knees continues to shake and bang into the wall. Asher must have realized I was having one of my ‘moments’, because I soon felt calloused, yet soft hands touch mine.

“Nate, what's wrong?” Asher said, calmly. “Look at me, love.” I refused. I couldn't look at him. It was too painful, knowing that Asher and Nova were _kanoodling_ behind my back.

“Please don’t shut me out. Talk to me.” He said gently. I almost wanted to say something. _Almost._ But I was upset and didn't want to give Asher the satisfaction of talking.

Asher reached out and grabbed my knees before I could smack them into the wall again (good thing too, they were beginning to tingle). He was strong, I’ll admit that, so no matter how I struggle he would still have the upperhand.

I jumped as I felt one of his hands run up and down my back in a soothing motion. He kissed the back of my neck and nuzzles his nose on the skin.

Just so you know, my back is extremely sensitive, and Asher knew that _very_ well. He has a mental map of my body and he knows exactly where to touch to produce the specific reaction he wanted.

I squeaked at the gentle touches and I felt as if I didn’t deserve such kindness. I don’t, right?

The hand on my knees trailed up my thigh to rest on my hips as Asher pressed his chest to my back. He peered over my shoulder and ran the pad of his thumb over my cheek.

“You’ve been crying,” he commented and let out a heavy sigh, “Don’t cry. Tell me what happened.”

He’ll get mad at me if I accuse him of cheating. I mean, he has bruises on his collarbone and he had been sympathising with Nova, so what am I supposed to think? (probably many other things, but I’m blinded by the fear that pooled in my throat).

Asher kissed my cheek lovingly then pressed his face in the crook of my neck. His breath tickled my skin which made me shiver. The nasty thoughts slowly trickled out of my mind and Asher replaced them. I know it’s embarrassing, but the feathery kiss on my neck sent little electric pulses down to my core. No, I’m upset, I was upset and I can’t feel like this now.

I (reluctantly) moved away, not allowing Asher to give me the love I didn't deserve. I still didn't say anything, in fact, I still refused to look at him. Was I being childish? Yes, but I didn’t want him to see my puffy face and bitten lip. I’m sure my teeth pierced the skin of my bottom lip. I curled my arms over my face and snapped my knees to my chest.

Asher growled at my silence. He grabbed my forearm and gently pushed it above my head as he rolled me on my back. Asher straddled my hips to keep me in place. He brushed his thumb over my cheek again to tuck away locks of stray hair. He cocked his head to the side as he pouted slightly.

“Oh Honey,” he breathed. He never called me ‘Honey’ unless he was about to get sentimental. We really stuck to our names and ‘Babe’, but rarely anything that sweet.

“D-don’t look at me,” I rasped out, “I’m hideous.”

“You are not,” he sighed, “You could be covered in mud and have a bald head and I’d still think you are the most handsome person in the universe.”

It took every ounce of self control not to crack a smile. Asher’s fingers trickled from my wrists down to my shoulders and up to hold my face. Our eyes locked in a longing glare. Before I knew it, his face was centimeters away from mine. His breath tickled my face as his lips teased mine.

“I’m sorry about earlier.” He whispered, his words ghosted over my lips, “You know I love you right? I will always be by your side.”

I wanted to kiss him so badly and to make every negative emotion leave my mind. Yet, I couldn't. My feelings were hurt and that trumped over arousal. I turned my head to the side and stared at the blank wall before voicing my thoughts.

“What’s with the bruises on your neck then?” I asked bitterly. His eyes widened. He was just about to say something before I cut him off, “And _why_ was _Nova_ wearing your sweater?” Even saying Nova’s _name_ left a bitter taste in my mouth. To me, it was like poison that invaded my life and took away the people I cared about.

I heard Asher deeply exhale. ‘ _This is it,’_ I thought, my eyes starting to sting with tears, ‘ _He’s caught, and now he's going to tell me he cheated on me with a guy he's only known for almost a week. Great.’_

“Look at me,” he said. Oh well, might as well get it over with. I looked up at him to see his gentle smile (why is he smiling? This is making me more guilty than ever). “The bruises are from training, when the bot hit me. And the sweater is because Nova had nothing to wear when he came here so I lent him a spare sweater. I don’t even care about it.” He grabbed the fibers of my plaid button up shirt, “Besides, you’re wearing my favorite shirt, and you look so cute in it.”

“B-but I saw you and Nova- and his head was in your neck and-” My voice cracked as I felt tears swell up behind my eyes again.

“I was trying to help him out. He’s dealing with some things, so I was just trying to help, just like how I help you.”

I’m an idiot. I hate myself more than ever right now. I should’ve known this if I just used my brain. I’m supposed to be the smart one on this team and I couldn’t figure out that my boyfriend was just helping his friend! I wanted to crawl in a hole and wither away there.

“O-oh… well now I feel ridiculous,” a hot blush burned my cheeks, “Even more so because I was in your bed without your knowledge and you just came in to see me… in your bed…” I mumbled to myself, “Way to make it more awkward Nate.”

Asher tilted my chin and pressed our foreheads together. I could faintly hear him chuckle under his breath. “Nate, I love you. No one else. I couldn’t possibly love anyone else because you are my everything.”

He’s too good to me. What did I do to deserve such a gentle and kind man that looks after me even in my worst moments?

“Besides,” he moved over to purr in my ear, “You are welcome in my bed any time.”

His lips connected with the patch of skin under my ear. The humidity in the room spiked as he rubbed his chest against mine.

“W-wow Ash, I feel like I don’t deserve this sort of attention from you,” I puffed out a breath as he trailed down my neck to latch onto my collarbone.

“Are you sure about that?” he chuckled over my skin. His hips rocked against mine.

My mind went blank as I slipped away into a state of bliss. All I felt was the tingling pleasure prick my body like a bunch of hot needles. I wanted more. He sucked harder on my collarbone.

“M-maybe,” I had to try and resist Asher’s seduction. I was in trouble, I did something wrong, I don’t deserve my sexy boyfriend ravishing my body.

“Really?” He hummed, “You don’t seem confident in your answer.” He licked over the fresh love mark he made.

“Because you’re just so tempting while I’m trying to brood. I can’t be upset when you’re around,” I pouted.

Asher pressed his lips over mine and kissed across my jaw, “I don’t want you to be upset. I want you to be happy. Just-” he bit my earlobe, “Let go.”

I whimpered at the immediate bliss that washed over my body, “O-okay. As long as you promise to love me like never before.” I yanked him so he was looking at me again. I held his face as I tried to put on the most innocent facade. “And don’t be so gentle.”

“I will, but…”

“But what?” I traced little shapes over his cheek.

“I’m scared, I don’t want to hurt you.” he said.

“Ash-” I shook my head. He will never let it go.

“I lost control last time and I don’t want that to happen-” I shut him up with a kiss. I know, it’s a cliche thing to do, but honestly, I hate thinking of that.

When Asher and I first started fooling around, we were young and new to this whole concept (we are still young). We wanted to try some things that we read about online. By things, I mean kinks. I’ll admit that I’m a kinky person, I mean, I like to be held down (sometimes tied) and left to endure whatever my partner has in store. I like to be teased to the point where I’m begging and pleading for more. But, I figured this out through a series of trials with Asher. One of the things we tried was choking since I read it was supposed to feel awesome…

Well, it’s not for me. I got scared and pushed him away. Actually, I yelled our safe word in such distress that Asher wouldn’t touch me for weeks. He said that he lost control and squeezed too tight, but I just don’t like being choked, to this day Asher blames himself.

I sighed, “Everything will be okay. I will be fine writhing underneath you as you pound me into oblivion. Don’t hold back. What’s pleasure without a little pain?” I winked at him.

Asher kissed me and trailed his fingers under my shirt. I had discarded the red plaid shirt, but I still wore my black tank top. He pushed up the fabric and rubbed up the length of my chest.

“You shouldn’t use such dirty words, Nathan,” he smirked. His hands stopped at the soft rose buds on my chest. He slowly rubbed at them with the calloused pad of his fingers until they stood prominent on my chest. Asher admired his handy work (pun intended) and flicked them causing me to twitch.

“What’s going to s-stop me…?!” I tried to sound confident.

Asher knew exactly what he was going to do. He bent down and flicked the tip of his tongue over one of my nipples. I gasped as he scraped his teeth over the bud until he finally sucked harshly on it. He reached up with his other hand to roll the untouched nipple between his fingers.

“Ah! A-Ash!” I squeaked.

Asher laughed over my chest and moved over to give the other erect bud the same attention. I bucked up my hips to get more friction on my steadily growing erection. He yanked his hips away so I was bucking into the air. He’s such a tease…

I know he was trying to distract me, but it’s one hell of a distraction.

Asher pulled his shirt over his head and discarded it on the floor and I followed suit. I shifted myself into a seated position and wrapped my legs around Asher’s waist. Asher pulled me into his lap and placed two hands on my back.

Like I said before, my back is the most sensitive part of my body. Asher once made me cum by just toying with my back. While my back is an erogenous zone for me, if touched right, it can bring me comfort and closure, and also it’s a ticklish spot (so be careful because if you tickle me, I will punch you. I don’t make the rules).

His nails scratched the surface of the smooth skin making me shiver. He smirked as he pressed our chests together and rested his head on my shoulder. His fingers feathered their way up and down the crease on my back. I clawed at his shoulder blades as a slur of whimpers and squeaks dribbled from my lips. I squirmed as he slipped into my jeans and back up to the space between my shoulders.

Asher kissed my neck and said, “Turn around Babe.”

I complied and turned around on my hands and knees. Asher pressed his groin against my ass as he kissed my shoulders. I knew what was going to happen and my body vibrated in anticipation. He licked the length of my back while running his nails down my sides. A pleasurable ticklish sensation spidered down my body and pooled at the tightness in my pants. He nipped zigzags on my back and lingered between my shoulder blades (he says that it’s the most sensitive part of my back and he says the reason is I was once an angel and that’s where my wing root was. Sappy, but that’s Asher for you).

I could hear him sigh as he brushed over a faded yellowish-green bruise from a while ago and kissed the spot. He nuzzled his face in my hair as he wrapped his arms around my torso, his chest flush against my back. His skin was sticky from the heat in the room. He began to thrust his hips against my clothed ass. I moaned at his skin rubbing against my back, him thrusting against my ass gave me no real sensation. He reached around and palmed me over my jeans.

Everything felt too good. Just because it was _Asher_ made it feel good. I couldn’t stand it, I needed him deep inside of me.

“Please,” I whispered since I was grunting and moaning too much to form a single word.

“What?” He purposely slammed his hips on me making both of us jolt forward.

“I need you inside of me,” I blurted out, “Please, fuck me!”

Asher hummed contently as he untangled himself from me. He popped open the button of my jeans and slid them down until my underwear and pants were bunched at my knees. He tapped against my thighs to I could help him wiggle me out of the rest of my clothes. He grabbed the lotion that he kept on his nightstand and squirted a dollop onto his fingers. I went down on my forearms to get more comfortable as he plopped himself between my trembling thighs.

He rubbed his fingers against the tight ring of muscle between my asscheeks. My breath hitched in my throat as he shallowly prodded at my hole. I wriggled my hips against his teasing finger. I moaned in satisfaction as he shoved one finger inside of me, but quickly took it out and let go.

“No! Why!” I whined.

“You’re just so beautiful,” he growled as he harshly grabbed at my inner thighs, “I want to savor your body and admire every inch of you.”

I moaned at his sweet words, “Just please finger me. I want you to be inside of me and feel your intense heat fill my body.”

“Fine,” Asher said in defeat.

He pressed one finger inside of me. I choked on the air around me as he wiggled the finger. He slowly took it out and shoved it back in. I arched my back as my jaw hung low as I felt another finger enter me. His fingers curled and twisted inside of me until he brushed against my favorite spot, the sweet spot.

“Yes! Asher right there!” I cried out in desperate need.

He ripped his fingers out of me and threw me on my back. He wrapped my legs around his waist and lathered up his erection. I draped my arms over his shoulders, but he grabbed my wrists and pinned them above my head. He lined himself with my entrance and rolled his hips over the area. His dick ghosted over the ring of muscle and it drove me crazy!

I whimpered and tried to push against him desperately. Asher drank up my pathetic attempts.

“I’m sorry Nate,” he chuckled, “You just look so cute like this.”

“Please, please, please,” I whimpered.

“Since you asked so nicely.” I could hear his smirk dripping from his words.

Within seconds, he was inside of me. I was thrown into a sea of pleasure as my body burned from being stretched to it’s limits. I rocked my hips on his since the stinging pain fueled my endless lust.

“Hurry,” I demanded desperately, “Fuck me! Fuck me so hard that I can’t walk tomorrow!”

“I’d rather make love to you than fuck you,” he said in my ear as he pulled out until only the tip remained and slammed back inside. My body jolted as I clawed at the pillows above me. “Fucking is such a rough word, and you are so soft and smooth,” Asher repeated his motions until he had a steady rhythm, “And you deserve the best because I love you. _Gods_ Nathan you are so fucking _tight!_ ” A slur of moans escaped my throat as I desperately tried to match his thrusts.

Our bodies were slick from the heat as Asher rested his forehead against mine. His hot breath hit my face as his thrusts became more animalistic. He let go of my wrists and leaned on his elbows. Our chests grind against each other as my dick was pressed against his tight abs.

The world spun around me as pleasure bubbled in the pit of my stomach. I felt ridiculous for not lasting long, but with Asher’s dick slamming against my prostate. My moans grew louder and more desperate as Asher’s wet groans set me teetering on the edge of pure bliss.

“Ash, I-I can’t handle much more!” I cried.

“Nate, I’m going to cum soon,” by soon, he meant now. He kissed me and slammed one last time deep inside of me. He coated my prostate with strings of his hot seed. Asher reached between us and stroked my dick. Within seconds I blew my load all over his stomach.

Asher collapsed next to me and wiped away the orgasm with tissues that he kept next to his bed for… reasons… Once he cleaned both of us up, he got out of bed throw out the used tissues.

I curled up in his bed basking in the gentle afterglow. Asher climbed back in bed and pressed a kiss on my neck. He tucked a soaked lock of hair behind my ear and held me close to him.

“You’re so beautiful,” he smiled, “And handsome. How did I meet a guy like you?”

“I should be saying the same thing,” I nuzzled my nose against his chest, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he brushed his fingers through my hair, “Let’s get some rest since we have training tomorrow.”

“Okay,” I closed my eyes ready to go to sleep until I remembered that Mom was going to call me.

SHIT!!

I untangled myself from Asher and grabbed whatever clothes I could find. He raised his eyebrow at my actions. I told him, “Mom wanted to call me.”

Asher nodded and said, “Come back when you’re done. It’s cold here without you to hold.”

I breathed out a chuckle and kissed his forehead, “I’ll be back.”

When Mom called, she laughed so hard tears were streaming down her face because my hair looked like it had been through a tornado, my lips were swollen and some love bites were visible, and let’s not mentioned the fact that I was wearing Asher’s shirt and my underwear because I couldn’t find our pants. Dad nearly lectured me about sex at a young age while Leo pointed out everything wrong with my appearance because since he turned 8, he was a fashionista. Honestly, I couldn’t wait to crawl back into that sleepy cuddle with Asher.

Wish me luck.

  


**CALLIE (a few hours earlier):**

“Oh, shut-up!” Nate yelled, sounding childish. “Run to your boyfriend and check to see if he's okay! I refuse to backed into a corner by the likes of _you!_ ”

I felt my hands ball up into fists, my nails digging into the flesh of my palms. There were so many things I wanted to say and do. I wanted to scream at Nate for being such an ass. I wanted to tackle him to the floor and keep him there until he apologized to both Nova and me. But I couldn't bring myself to do such things. I was in too much disbelief. Here I was, talking to Nate like an adult, and he finishes the conversation with something completely childish. He always had to have the last word, especially in an argument. However, I wasn't going to let him have the satisfaction. See, like him, I also wanted to have the last word. I just didn't want to sound like a child when saying it.

I shook my head and sighed. “You are so immature sometimes.”

With that said I turned around and walked out of the room, closing the door behind me. I refuse to be yelled at by Nate for something I have every right to be upset for. As I walked down the hall, I felt my impulsive anger starting to show in my facial features and posture. I felt like I wanted to explode! What gave Nate the right to take that video?! What was he thinking?! Did he think I would just go with the flow like usual? No! He knows I hate being filmed without my knowledge, it’s such an invasion of privacy. Not only that, but he managed to get Nova in trouble with my overprotective father because he had the balls to send it to Aunt Pidge. Seriously?! Are you freaking kidding me?! The only reason Nate yelled at me when I told him about his necessary hatred for Nova because he knew I was right. Nova’s only been here for 5 days and already waves are starting to ripple regarding our team’s dynamic. If anything, he should be wary of us! He doesn’t know anyone and he hasn’t put up a fight to try to leave. He trusts us when he doesn’t have to.

_You don’t know that. After that stunt Nate pulled, he should have every right to not trust the team. To trust you._

My balled up fists tighten at the thought. “He’ll come around.” I told myself, stubbornly. “I swear.”

It wasn’t until then that I realized something was dripping through my fingers and I was brought out of my raging thoughts. Oh shit. Slowly, I uncurled my hands, wincing as my nails detached themselves from my palms. I then brought them up to my face and immediately went pale. My fingers and hands were smeared in blood. _My_ blood.

“Fucking hell.” I cursed.

Why does this keep happening to me? Sure, I was angry, but I didn't think I was _this_ angry. I felt frustrated tears prick my eyes, but I quickly blinked them back. I was so tired of having to deal with my impulsive anger and how every little thing, like this situation, could set me off. I should go to Selina. She always helps when this happens. To be honest, Selina is  the only person, besides myself, who knows something is wrong. She found out when we were just hitting puberty. She noticed that I was getting angrier, that my cramps were getting worse with each passing month, and much more. Now, that may sound normal, but every time I get impulsive or angry, my hands ball up into fists.

_Once, I was angry at my teacher for giving me a bad grade for no reason. We were just starting to get into the argument when my teacher noticed my hands. She told me to unclench them immediately. But I couldn't. It was like my fingers were stuck. I panicked and immediately ran out of the classroom. Selina, who was waiting for me outside, followed me, asking me what was wrong._

_“My hands,” I whispered, tears burning my eyes. “They won't uncurl!”_

_Selina raised her eyebrows. “What are you talking about?!”_

_“My nails are stuck! They won't come out!” I said, choking back a sob before showing her my hands. There was blood slowly sliding down my hands and fingers._

_“Shit!” Selina whispered. “How?!”_

_“How should I know?!”_

_Selina immediately grabbed me and made a beeline towards the girls’ washroom. Placing me in front of the sink, she turned the water on and grabbed one of my hands._

_“Wait!” I cried._

_“I have to pry your nails away from your hands, Cal.” Selina said, rightfully concerned. “You can't keep your hands like that forever.”_

_“I know, I going to say give me something to put in my mouth.”_

_My cousin gave me a quizzical look._

_“There's no way this process isn't going to be painful. It’ll muffle my screams.” I said, sniffling._

_Selina understood what I meant and took off her scarf before placing it in my mouth. She then went back to focusing on my hands. She glanced up, her eyes asking me for my permission. I closed my eyes and swallowed the huge lump in my throat before giving a slight nod._

_“I promise I’ll be as quick as I can.” Selina said shakily, grabbing my bloody fingers._

_It isn't long before I feel like giant thorns are being ripped out of my hands. Somehow, Selina managed to uncurl all my fingers in one go. I screamed, my tears now falling._

_“I know, I know it hurts!” Selina said, “But you're doing really well, we only have one more hand to go. You've got this.”_

_She gently grabbed my other hand. “You ready?” She asked._

_I took a deep breath and nodded. With one swift motion, my nails were out of my palms and my hands were being placed under warm water. It immediately stung my new self-inflicted wounds. The scarf was then removed from my mouth and I let out a gasp._

_“It’s okay.” Selina said from behind me. “You're okay.” For some reason I felt like she wasn't saying that to just me._

_As the blood from my hands washed down the drain, I started to feel exhausted. I slumped over the sink, my eyes feeling heavy from the sudden adrenaline rush. Selina then shut off the sink, dried my hands with paper towel and took me to the bench beside the door. She made me sit while she scavenged through her bag to find something._

_“W-what are you doing?” I whispered hoarsely._

_“Just relax.” Selina shushed me. “I know what I'm doing.”_

_Through my blurred vision, I saw Selina finally take out her hand wraps for fighting._

_“N-no, Selina. Don't.” I protested. “They're your best fighting gloves.”_

_“Hush up, Cal.” She responded. “I have to wrap them so they don't get infected and this is all I have at the moment.” She took my hands and was just about to wrap them when she stopped. She looked scared._

_“What’s wrong?” I asked, concerned._

_Selina shakily inhaled and held her breath before slowly letting it out. “These… These wounds don't look like they were caused by your nails…”_

_“What are you talking about?” I whispered hesitantly._

_“The cuts, they aren't crescent-shaped. Your hands look like they were stabbed by really sharp thorns.” I looked down at my hands and inspected them closely. My stomach immediately lept into my throat. Selina was right. Instead of little tiny  crescent moons, my palms had deep holes; four on each hand. New tears flooded into my eyes as Selina started to wrap them with her fighting wraps. I could feel her hands slightly shake with each passing moment. It was one thing to go through something that couldn't be explained but having to witness someone you love go through it was a completely different story. I couldn't imagine what Selina was thinking or feeling._

_Once the wraps were around my hands, Selina huffed a heavy sigh and sat on the bench with me. “You okay?” She asked, sounding exhausted._

_“Yeah. I'm fine.” I said, unconvincingly._

_“Liar.” Selina said, calling me out on my lie._

_“Alright, I'm scared okay? I have no idea what the hell just happened.”_

_“Join the club.” Selina sighed._

_I placed my head on Selina’s shoulder and closed my eyes, trying to take deep breaths. My older cousin wrapped an arm around me in a comforting way. I soon began to relax. We sat there for a good minute before I whispered. “What’s wrong with me, Sel?”_

_Her grip around my shoulder tightens. “Nothing. That… That just…”_

_“That wasn't normal.” I finished. “Something is going on Selina. You know that just as much as I do.”_

_Selina let out a defeated sigh. She knew there was something wrong. Sometimes I thought she always knew I wasn't normal, from the very beginning._

_After Selina cleaned up the blood on the floor and the edges of the sink, we skipped our last class so Selina could take me home. She did most of the talking when my parents asked what happened, but she didn't lie. Selina can’t lie for shit. Once they heard everything, Papa took a look at my hands and had Dad take me to the bathroom to properly treat them. The wounds weren't that deep but according to Dad, they were going to scar._

_“Dad?” I said. “I’m scared.” I cringed at how vulnerable I sounded, but Dad was too preoccupied to notice._

_“I know, baby.” He said softly before switching his gaze to mine. “But you don't have to be. Everything’s going to be okay.”_

_I held up one of my newly wrapped hands, extending my pinkie out. I whispered. “Promise?”_

_Dad smiled and wrapped his pinkie around mine. “Promise.”_

_-_

Since then, Selina and my family have tried to help me with my ‘episodes’ as I began to call them. They had been getting better, that is, until Nate and Nova started to butt heads. Maybe it was even before that.

Nate should be more empathetic with Nova. Sure, he might hate him, but I know Nate isn’t heartless. Him and Nova actually are kind of similar. They’re both, stubborn little shits, but in all seriousness, even though Nova hasn’t established the fact that he’s hurting, I can see a damaged look in his eyes-- well, eye. Nate has shown that look before, it’s especially evident when he has his panic attacks.

Being lost in my own thoughts, I almost walked past Selina’s room. _Good job, Callie._

With my ego slightly bruised from my lack of awareness, I sighed and knocked on Selina’s door softly, hoping that she was in her room so I wouldn’t have to walk around this giant maze of a castle to try to find her. Thankfully, her door opened to reveal her wearing her reading glasses and holding a book on martial arts. She was most likely studying on her fighting technique.

“Hey,” Selina said with a small smile. “What’s up?”

“It happened again.” I grumbled, showing her my bloody hands. The blood was already starting to dry and become uncomfortable.

Selina sighed and placed her hand on my shoulder, giving me the look a mother would give to her hurt child. “C’mon, let’s get them cleaned up.”

She guided me into her room and made me sit on her bed while she put her book and glasses away. Walking towards me and sitting on her knees, Selina grabbed the first aid kit she kept under her bed and pulled it in front of her before opening it with a loud click.

“So,” she said, pulling out all her needed supplies. “What happened after I left?”

I rolled my eyes and grumbled, “Nate happened. I yelled at him for the stupid video he took. I still can't believe he sent it to his mom.”

Selina started applying disinfectant on my puncture wounds, wiping the blood away. It stung, but it wasn't terrible.

“Nate  and his mom are close. You know that.” Selina sighed. A twinge of anger settled in my chest.

I _know_ Nate and his mom were really close. But that still didn't give him the right to take the video in the first place. And I love her, but who does Aunt Pidge think she is? She shouldn't have even sent the video to my dads! Did she think it would be funny?

“I know, but still!” I tried to argue. “Nate filmed Nova and me without us knowing! And then his mom goes and sends it to my parents! I didn't want my fathers to meet Nova like this, it's unfair to him.” I sighed, feeling slightly sorry for myself. “He was put on the fucking spot and now he’s probably pissed off!”

“Cal--”

“Nate better hide in his room for a day.”

“Callie will you just--”

“I swear to all the Gods of the universe if he--”

“Callie!”

“What?!” I hissed. I swear, if she interrupts my rant one more time...

Selina was holding my wrists firmly and calmly said. “You're digging your nails into your hands again.”

I gasped in embarrassment and I uncurled my hands and allowed Selina to continue working on them. She must have noticed because she then added. “Look, Pidge is a good person. She would never do anything to hurt you. She probably just wanted to show your parents what a good job you were doing. Face it, you kicked Nova’s ass.”

I flashed a shy smile as she continued. “And c’mon, you know Nate. Yes, he’s a brat, but he would never do anything to deliberately embarrass you. Or Nova, no matter how much he wanted to. Also, how was Nate supposed to know that his mom was going to send the video to your parents?”

My smile faltered. “He knew…” I mumbled. “I just… I guess he didn’t know exactly.”

Selina shook her head. “I really don't think he did. I think he was probably just being smug about the situation because he doesn't like nova. But he's a good person. You know that. And he loves you. He would never want to hurt you in anyway. And the same goes for Nova. Sure, they might butt heads for a bit, but it's only because Nova likes to instigate and Nate is like a dog with a bone. He just won't let go until he gets the last word in. But that's going to change, I promise. I know we're a good team. We just need to train and bond a little more.”

I thought about what she said for a bit before nodding my head, smiling a little. Now that I had calmed down, I was thinking rationally and not emotionally. “Yeah, you're right. I know Nate would never do that…”

“Yeah, and besides, Nate will get over it. He’ll be okay.”

However, the more I thought about what went down earlier, the more my smile faded until it was a complete frown. I know Nate would never deliberately hurt me and yet I blamed him for doing just that.

“Oh, my God. I’m such an asshole.” I groaned, throwing my head back. “I accused Nate of purposely trying to humiliate Nova.”

I heard Selina quietly say. “Oh, no.”

“He looked like he was about to cry, Selina. He looked so hurt.”

“Oh, Callie.” Selina sighed, sounding disappointed.

I groaned again. “Fucking hell! Why am I always such a bitch?!”

“Look, that's enough Callie. You weren't being a bitch. You were upset, understandably. Granted, you didn't _have_ to blame him for this--”

I let out another loud groan followed by a surplus of curse words in Spanish. 

“But!” Selina interjected. “You were angry and hurt. However, now you need to fix it, before Nate has one of his episodes.”

Selina was right, I did have to apologize to Nate at some point. However, my ego was still slightly bruised from over-reacting and accusing him of hurting Nova and me.

“I-I’m sure Asher calmed him down. He was still there after I left.” I reasoned, before mumbling. “He probably took Nate’s side anyway.”

Selina merely shrugged. “Yeah, probably.”

“But…” I pondered. “What if he didn’t? Nate would be crushed.”

“Look, regardless of whether Asher took his side or not, you should still apologize to him.” Selina said softly as she starting to clean my hands with disinfectant. “I know he did something wrong, but I’m sure he didn’t mean to. He might be really hurt by what you said.” I winced at the slight sting from the anti-bacterial cream. Selina quickly wrapped my hands up in long bandages and sealed them tight to stop the bleeding.

To apologize to that little prankster would mean I admit defeat. My pride was too swollen for me to tell Nate I was wrong at the moment. It’s pretty shitty of me, but I’d rather talk with my little cousin after I cool down. Nate is known to not take things lightly and the results can be traumatic.

I sighed, “I should find Nova first and see if he’s okay. Nate’s not the only one hurt by this situation, and he should be fine! I mean, Papa must’ve told Nate some coping mechanisms during their sessions!” I tried to put a positive spin on things just so I could avoid Nate. Whether it was guilt or the rage beginning to sizzle away in my stomach, I thought it would be best to check on the newest member of Voltron first.

I’ll admit, Nova is pretty attractive. He’s not like the other boys I knew back on Earth. Nova doesn’t treat me like some fragile porcelain doll, but instead like a fellow human. He’s mysterious, there is so much to explore about him that it gets my blood pumping. He is uncharted ground just waiting to be discovered.

The older girl snapped her fingers in front of my face to bring me back to reality. She had a smirk on her lips, “So, what’s going on between you two anyway?”

I was about to growl at her until she applied more disinfectant onto my other cuts and I winced.

“I see how you two look at each other,” she never looked at me. She was too focused on my hands.

In high school, I could get anyone I wanted. Boys would kiss the ground I walked on, but that was because I knew the right people. This one girl, Jules, whom was a ‘friend’ of mine, dressed me up in semi skimpy clothes and said that boys like that. Could it be possible that Nova looks at me differently? Of course, I know he looks at me like a person and not a slab of meat.

His hair down to his jawline and his muscles, all of it is different. The way he talks to me makes my heart skip a beat. Yet, I’ll never admit that I could possibly like him, “Nothing is going on,” I huffed, “He’s obnoxious! He calls me ‘Sweetheart’ and he just knows how to aggravate me!” I felt my cheeks become warmer as a raved about how irritating he was.

“I call bullshit!” Selina wrapped my other hand in bandages.

“What? It’s the truth!” I protested.

She let go of my hands and packed up the first aid kit, “If it’s the truth, then why are you blushing?” She flashed me a smug smile and left me alone in the room.

I’m blushing because I have a crush on Nova… Or, do I?

After I took some painkillers and the throbbing pain in my hands stopped, I decided to swing by Nova’s room to check on him. He did seem upset, but I also wanted to see if Selina was onto something. I want to know if he looks at me differently and if it’s possible that I had some feelings…

No, not possible. Though, he’s like that adventure I’ve always been seeking…

I took a shaky breath before I went to knock on the door, but it opened before I did. Mr. Mystery himself was standing there in a loose undershirt and his jeans from earlier. His hair was draped over one eye, like usual, but there was something different about him. Maybe I was just overthinking it.

“Hey Sweetheart,” he smirked, “What do I owe this honor?” And he’s back.

I sighed and felt slightly disappointed. I don’t know what I was expecting, “Nothing, just came to check on you.” I waved him off as I turned around to walk away.

“Wait, what happened to your hands?” he asked. I stopped in my tracks. “Here, come in, it’s fine. I could use the company anyway,” he said with a meek smile.

My heart thumped in my chest as I set myself on autopilot and followed him into his room. When the door closed, I was immediately hit with a blast of cool air since his room was like a freezer! I rubbed my arms as I slowly walked on these eggshells over to his bed. I sat down on the edge and looked around the room for something warm to wear.

Nova had nothing. The room was a barren white and I could almost see the tumbleweed drift across the ground. It was kind of sad.

“So,” Nova cleared his throat and scooted back on his bed until his back hit the wall, “Your hands.”

“I already said nothing,” I snapped at him then took a deep breath, “I came here to check on you, not be interrogated about my hands.”

“Alright,” he put his hands up in defense.

I slipped out of my shoes and scooted back to join him. I curled my knees to my chest to try and keep warm in his room. I made a mental note to ask Allura about making the room warmer.

“Nate doesn’t mean what he says,” I blurted out to break this awkward silence between us.

“So I’ve heard,” he said.

“I’ve known him for a long time and he has gone through so much shit,” I told him.

He sighed, “So I’ve heard.”

I looked at him with a blush on my cheeks. I felt like an idiot!

“Sorry,” I muttered as I rested my chin on my knees, “You must’ve heard this from Asher already.”

I wanted to disappear already. I was making a fool of myself in front of a guy that may or may not be a potential crush. Yeah, why would he want to be with someone like me? He’s so cool and suave, I bet he has been on thousands of adventures with many different girls before. What makes me so different?

Nova spoke up, “I don’t know Nate, I just know he doesn’t mean it and stuff.”

I looked down at my feet and wiggled my toes in my superwoman socks, “Well, when I first met Nate, I didn't know his mom, but I was close with his dad. His dad got really upset when he saw his mom and him, and when they went to talk, my parents opened up to Nate, but I got jealous and told him that everyone was upset and it was all his fault. A-and instead of yelling at me, he just told me in a sweet voice, ‘Yeah, it is…’ and-” I nearly forgot I was talking to someone, “I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to ramble.” Maybe if I squeeze my knees to my chest hard enough, I can become a ball and get out of this situation.

Nova chuckled. Each dip in his voice made my heart throb and I bit my lip. I buried my face in my knees since I didn’t want him to see my embarrassment.

“No, it’s fine,” he said, “I want to get to know you guys. I feel like I’m an outside around everyone… Well, everyone except you.” he nudged my shoulder which made me snap my gaze over to him.

His face was genuine with kindness. It was the first time I’ve seen him so vulnerable before. It was only a sliver of openness, but it’s better than nothing. He was smiling at me

“What’s wrong Sweetheart?” he asked, still genuine. For a second, I forgot where we were and how we met, all I knew was just us.  

I gazed into his one exposed greyish blue eye. I know his other eye was replaced when he was captured by the Galra, but I’ve never gotten a good look at it. I shakily brought up my hand to tuck his hair behind his ear, but he flinched away from me knocking my hand into the wall.

And there we have it folks, how I fuck everything up!

I yelped in pain as I yanked my arm back towards me.

“Oh shit! I’m sorry!” Nova gasped as he leaned towards me.

“No, it’s fine,” I uncurled myself and put pressure on that hand, “You shouldn’t apologize, it’s my fault.”

He shook his head, “No, it’s mine. I should’ve told you. I don’t really like to be touched.” Well, there we have it, I went to touch the one person on this entire castle ship that doesn’t like to be touched.

“Does it have to do with-”

“-The Galra?” he finished my sentence, “Yeah.”

I buried my face in my hands hoping that maybe I’ll wake up and it was all a dream. I groaned and said, “God, now I feel like more of an idiot.”

Nova was frustrated. He growled out, “Callie, it’s okay!”

I gasped at his words. I felt time stand still as I processed what he said. I felt my heart clog my throat as his words rattled around in my head.

“W-what?” Nova backed up slightly. He thought he did something wrong. It made me chuckle.

“You called me ‘Callie’ instead of Sweetheart,” I smiled, “I-I liked it.”

His serious face twisted into a smile and he laughed, “I can stop calling you Sweetheart if you want. Besides, I like the name Callie, it really suits you.”

Something about him was definitely different. He was more charming. It was like night and day, he was much more appealing than before. Oh no… Selina was right…

“What’s wrong? Did I say something?” He teased as he saw my cheeks burn a bright red.

“No!” I squeaked, “You did nothing wrong.” I felt a rush of self-consciousness and started to brushed my fingers through my hair, “God, my hair's a mess.” I winced as I frantically tried to fix my hair. My fingers got caught in the tangled strands.

Nova reached out and grabbed my hands, “No, you don’t have to do that. You look fine,” he smiled politely as he gently pulled my hands from my hair and rested them in between us. His smile faded as he examined the bandages. “What really happened to your hands? They were fine when we were in the control room.”

I couldn’t tell Nova that my nails grew five times their original size and got stuck in my hands. I had to lead him astray from the question.

“I just hit the wall,” I lied, “I was mad at Nate for what he did and punched a wall.”

He snorted, “You’re not very good at lying, are you Sweetheart?”

I huffed out a breath and scowled at him, “I’m not lying.”

“Fine, if you aren’t lying,” he turned my hands over so my palms were facing up, “Why are your palms bandaged and not your knuckles?”

Oh crap. I had to think of a way out quick, so I turned on my charm button and let my flirtatiousness save my back.

I pouted and said, “I hit with my palms,” I leaned in closer to him, “Why don’t you believe me?” next to bat my eyes, “Am I really _that_ untrustworthy?” It seemed to be working.

Nova’s cheeks were dusted over pink as his eyes went wide. He let go of my hands and leaned back slightly. “N-no! Not at all! It’s just…” I flashed him an innocent look. He took a deep breath and said, “I trust you, I just don’t like seeing you hurt.” He leaned his head back against the wall and mutters, “I hate seeing any of you hurt.”

Wait, what? This was a side of Nova I have never seen before. He was sweet and caring, his voice was heavy with compassion and understanding. I might not know him well, but this new mask he wore seemed too genuine to ignore.

It shocked me to hear him say that. If I was in his shoes, I would avoid everyone until I got home.

“But you’ve only known me for five days!” I gasped out.

He smiled, “You’ve shown me respect and dignity, and you have treated me like a person instead of a prisoner.” He looked at me, his hair covering half of his face, “I may not show it because if I’m being honest, I don't know why I trust you after only a few days, but I do. I promise.”

The beating in my chest became quicker as I gazed into the mystery on him. I bit my lip as my curiosity twitched and I wanted to know everything.

I didn’t understand it! I was trying to distract him with the only thing I have. It always worked with those boys back at home. They would throw themselves at my feet if I winked at them, and they always wanted me to dress up as a sexy _something_ for Halloween. They would go out with me, but never try to get to know me, they only wanted to get to know my body. Yet, I’m sitting on Nova’s bed, purposely flaunting myself to him, and he’s just sitting there smiling! He’s not like those other guys!

I’m not complaining though, it’s nice to have someone care about me for who I am.

I was getting so lost in thought, I hadn’t noticed I opened my mouth. I was thinking how seeing Nova in this light, it kind of makes him, “so hot.” I didn’t noticed I had muttered anything.

“Pardon?” Nova had an amused smirk on his face.

I knew what had just happened, and my face heated up, “H-huh?” I wanted to crawl away again for saying such an out of context statement. It must scare him or something! Great, I freaked out my crush…  

“You just said something, I couldn’t really hear you,” then he laughs, “But does it have to do with the look you are giving me?”

“W-what look?” I leaned back a bit.

Nova laughed, “Callie, you know what I’m talking about, but you don’t need to do that. You’ve already earned my respect. You don’t have to seduce me for it,” seduce him?! “I care about you just the way you are.”

I didn’t know what to say. Ever since I got interested in boys, I had this little habit of using my looks to get out of situations or get what I want. It’s become a second nature sort of thing by now, so if I was, I wouldn’t notice.

“I’m not seducing you! Why would I want to seduce you?” I laughed awkwardly feeling my heart flutter in my chest. The sudden urge to dart out of the room took over, but if I ran away then it would be wimpy.

He smiled… His fucking _smile_ was so amazing! Then he placed a hand on my cheek and I was probably making an extremely unattractive face.

Nova said, “I don’t know. Why are you blushing like that?”

“B-because of what you said you idiot!” I gasped as he got closer.

“Aw, that’s cute,” he gave me a smirk and I decided to trust my instincts.

I jumped off of his bed and backed up towards the door. I pouted, “I don’t want to talk anymore. I’m going back to my room. See you tomorrow.” And before Nova could speak, I ran out of the room.

I ran all the way back to my room and locked the door, then I slid down the smooth metal until my butt hit the floor and curled myself into a little ball. My mind raced about the moment Nova and I shared. That stupid boy is messing with me, Dad warned me about this. He always said to be careful because when you meet someone you truly care about, all you can think about is that person. And that’s when he told me that when this happens, he’ll kick the guy’s ass. So best not to tell anyone about this and let’s see where the wind takes me.

Wish me luck.

**Author's Note:**

> Ryker's Tumblr: whispering-wind-demons.tumblr.com
> 
> Maddie's Tumblr: 88madison88.tumblr.com


End file.
